#also the series as a whole broadens its scope of characters and stories as the world becomes more nuanced and realistic. respectfully how

[werewolf-apologist]

ppl who complain that muto hates finn or that the show loses focus on finn bc it also includes side character episodes……..are u ok

#bro the whole world gets deeper more interesting more complex when it chooses to show side characters and their journey #also the series as a whole broadens its scope of characters and stories as the world becomes more nuanced and realistic. respectfully how #did u miss that. the show always stays abt being finn and jake but it lends itself to the world of ooo where they live to deepen the lore #and make the world richer. would u truly be happy and feel connected to a world where only the main characters are given voice. not any of #their friends or family ??? idk mayb i am a silly choose goose who enjoys a lore ep as much as a main plot ep but like. how can u say muto #hates finn when islands exists. when finn gets to be a teen/young adult who makes mistakes and changes and grows and Becomes even if it’s #ugly or negative sometimes. without the writers love and care he would be the same in s1 as he is in s8 Please be so honest in this space #idk i truly believe that to love a character or story u have to be willing to fuck it up a little. to show them in an honest light even if #it doesn’t look good. the flame princess/ice king arc does finn dirty on Purpose !! he’s a teen boy who doesn’t know how things work !! #it doesn’t villainize him it just shows he’s a fallible boy figuring it out and he fumbles. he isn’t perfect #it literally would’ve been 10x worse if finn was always the objectively correct person in every situation #idk. i love this show i love these characters. it’s silly (imo) to say the writers don’t bc they make the world wider and the conflicts more #nuanced. i think that’s silly is all

[loneswaggingranger]

So... my thoughts on the latest season of Sex Education is a little... jumbled, but overall I give it, like, a 7/10. Here's just some of the parts that I liked and disliked (rmb that this is just my interpretation of watching it and is no way conclusive against other interpretations)

Spoilers below!

Likes

I like that Cavendish is kind of a turn-tables situation where queer/left-wing-progressive ppl are at the top of the social food chain. It realistically shows how even in a space where discrimination of any kind is prohibited, there will still be complex issues that need to be discussed, e.g., toxic positivity, accessibity issues etc.

I also like Eric's whole storyline of finding himself with God. I'm not religious or anything, but I feel his storyline are going to empower a lot of religious queer people.

Adam is always a favourite. His actor just brings so much to the table and his performance is always outstanding. His closure scene with Eric was 💖💖

I love that the show confronts Otis' standing of privilige and how he's sidelined his friendship with Eric. I also like how the main relationship that got repaired was his and Eric's. It's nice to see platonic friendships take the center stage over romantic ones.

I love that Maeve and Otis show how an amicable breakup, still full of love, can be. It shows that if you love someone, you'll love them enough not to hold them back.

Maeve's funeral speech, and her scene conversing with Jean at the dining table made me weepppppp.

I also loved the different ways of grieving the show shows with Maeve and Sean. Sean was clearly in pain, and as the older one, he'd probably seen a bit more shit than Maeve. And he was valid for not wanting to do the funeral because of the pain his mother caused him. But also, Maeve's wish to honour her mother one last time was commendable as well. She remembers the good AND the bad of her mother, and that's just really big of her.

I loved the scene with her telling her professor that a teacher's word holds a lot of power.

I love Maeve's arc entirely basically.

Dislikes

O's entire character was... problematic. Like she did quite a number of problematic things that weren't addressed in the storyline at all. Like she presses her way into other's vulnerabilities without them giving her explicit consent. She looks at things that by all terms, should have been left strictly confidential (Jean's paper about Otis, for example) and then brings it up as if it were a completely okay thing to do. I really wanted to like her, like I see where she was coming from and she has really cool style and she's the only East Asian rep for the show. Just, as an East Asian person watching this (though I'm not from the UK), it just felt very othering that the ONLY East Asian rep in the show had to be played against the main character. I didn’t like her because she was the story's antagonist to the main character. If there were other East Asians in the series, I might have felt better about it but like, O being the only one, and also being a problematic character just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I really think Adam's storyline could have been integrated more into the Cavendish storyline. Coz right now his just feels like it's hanging on the side with no real connection to the main plot. I love his horses tho.

The show should really have stuck with its existing characters rather than broadening the scope to... Jo, for example. Anwar and Olivia could have been explored. Idk what went on behind the scenes but like, for a final season, shifting the main focus to the main cast and just a couple new ones should have been enough. I love that it's working to be diverse and inclusive, but jam-packing so many different experiences into one last season just felt... jarring for the season's ending.

#sex education #sex education s4 #sex education spoilers #sex education season 4 #review #series review #thoughts #sex ed netflix #sex ed spoilers

[doomonfilm]

Review : Tenet (2020)

In a perfect, pandemic free world, my fall would have been more than likely centered around the release of Tenet.  Christopher Nolan has earned his spot as a filmmaker who releases event-level films, and the anticipation for Tenet was through the roof, even before COVID-19 shifted the way of the world away from the theater experience.  I was bummed to miss the film in the theater, but after a long and patient wait, it hit streaming services, which finally gave me the opportunity to experience what looked like a brain-bender of a film.

After being captured during a siege on a Kyiv opera house, a CIA agent (John David Washington) attempts to commit suicide via a cyanide pill, only to be awakened by his CIA superior Fay (Martin Donovan).  Our revived agent, now going by the title Protagonist, is briefed on an organization known as Tenet and assigned a role in stopping an upcoming war threatening to destroy the past through “inversion”, a practice in which the entropy of object is reversed, causing them to look as if they are moving backwards through time.  The Protagonist is educated on inversion by a CIA scientist (Clémence Poésy) before visiting arms dealer Priya Singh (Dimple Kapadia) with the aide of his new partner Neil (Robert Pattinson).  The meeting puts them on the track of art appraiser Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), who has a dangerously contentious relationship with Russian figurehead Sator (Kenneth Branagh).  As the duo investigates deeper, they are thrown into a whirlwind of time, pitting them against numerous unknown enemies and situations.

The way that Christopher Nolan is able to take a specific genre and infuse high-level thinking and abstract ideas is a unique gift, especially when it comes to Hollywood fare.  Tenet takes the spy genre and uses it to reflect on the way we view time, life, and in many ways, cinema itself.  The whole idea of inversion therapy shakes up our understanding of causality, fracturing it in such a manner that he can then move sections of his narrative around and present them in one of the most temporal-shifting ways since Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction… specifically, the story tells a bit of itself, shows you key information from later in the run of events, brings them together, and then explodes out the view of the world, making a sort of ‘folded string’ style of experiencing time.  Aspects of parallel experiences, time paradoxes and world-breaking events fall right in line with the danger of nuclear holocaust and the real danger of military level combat.

Inversion and entropy also lend themselves to many, many visually stunning sequences, and quite a few of them, while making logical sense, are very hard to process the first time they are seen.  The fight scenes have so much going on in terms of choreography and coordination that they hide a major narrative reveal, and they serve as an introductory point of understanding that makes the madness and chaos of the final sequence easier to comprehend, which allows the viewer to keep track of the many moving parts in the run up to the story’s resolution.  The action and motion-based aspects of time work emotionally as well, with many characters finding richer connections as their level of familiarity wavers through temporal peaks and valleys.  Most any film that takes a deep dive into how time works will be confusing on some level, but Nolan handles his lofty concepts with the calm assurance of a seasoned storyteller, giving us enough context visually and expositionally to suspend disbelief and immerse ourselves into his world.

The immersion is incredibly easy in the case of Tenet, and this is chiefly due to Nolan’s affinity for using practical effects as much as possible.  On top of this practice, the inversion concept seemingly forced Nolan to take your common aspects of spy films, such as car chases, explosions, gunplay, hand to hand combat and life or death races against time, and infuse them with fresh ideas that are new or rare to the screen.  The scope of the story is broadened by the use of real locations and a vast array of actors that represent many different nationalities.  The score pulls you in deeper with its pulsing sense of life, and it also serves to inform the viewer as it chooses times to run forwards and backwards, generally in league with the action on the screen.  The screenplay is extremely tight and rewarding at its conclusion, with so much eventually revealed that it ends up lending the film to rewatches in hopes of catching tiny details that may have been overlooked.

Many people criticized John David Washington for a flat performance, but in my opinion, he serves as a steadying force in an initially confusing series of events and exposition, allowing us a clear logical and emotional focal point as our understanding of events unfolds.  Elizabeth Debicki, by contrast, brings an innocent victimhood to the table that slowly gives way to a caged animal looking for the opportunity to land a retaliatory strike.  Robert Pattinson brings the sly assurance of a seasoned veteran to the table, as if he is running off of the knowledge of knowing what lies in wait.  Kenneth Branagh leans all the way into the worst aspects of his antagonist character, being equally despicable in terms of his wife, his property and any advantage he may happen upon.  Dimple Kapadia presents an air of class in a world full of unscrupulous individuals.  These actors make up the core cast, with Martin Donovan, Fiona Dourif, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Himesh Patel, Clémence Poésy and more adding to the textured world of Tenet. 

In many ways, I feel that Tenet was one of the biggest victims of COIVD-19 changing the way that we absorb film.  Much like social media, anything given the time and opportunity to scrutinize will fall victim to nitpicks and negative observations, but in the realm of a theater experience where one is disconnected from reality (even if briefly), I feel the viewer would find themselves too locked into the ride to pick it apart.  While not the best Christopher Nolan film, I must recognize it as the stunning achievement it is, and give it its props as one of the best of 2020.  

#ChiefDoomsday #DOOMonFILM #ChristopherNolan #Tenet #JohnDavidWashington #RobertPattinson #ElizabethDebicki #DimpleKapadia #MartinDonovan #FionaDourif #YuriKolokolnikov #HimeshPatel #ClemencePosey #AaronTaylorJohnson #MichaelCaine #KennethBranagh

[jennikkugoesoff]

Jennikku goes off about a Sonic the Hedgehog Reboot.

If you follow me at all or have read many of my other rants, you’ll know I love Sonic the Hedgehog. A lot, with all my heart. I met my friends through Sonic and it’s a franchise that’s changed a lot in my life, for better, for worse and everything in-between. It’s the reason I started to draw, to write and to really give creativity a chance.

It’s a series that has been through many twists, turns, up and down and all arounds over the course of it’s long, 28 (as of the time of writing) year lifespan, and has stood the test of time, being heralded either as one of the best video game franchises of all time, or, well, one of the worst out there, becoming more and more dated by each passing day.

But, it didn’t start out that way. Everyone’s told the long, terrible story now about Sonic’s massive rise to the top of 1990s American Iconography and his massive plummet into the depths of Hell, dragging his now-bitter fans down with him following the turn of the century and segwaying into the modern age, so I won’t bog you with the details you already know, but here’s the main point.

Sonic the Hedgehog... kinda sucks.

And that’s because it’s a mess. An astronomically confused, tired, and beaten mess. In the 28 year lifespan of Sonic the Hedgehog, it’s canon has become massively tangled in knots. Inconsistent games, inconsistent comics, inconsistent cartoons, and so on and so forth. Anyone who’s a fan of Sonic comes from a place where they heard about Sonic, be it the games, the cartoons, the comics, and so on, and therefore, have a different mindset about what Sonic the Hedgehog should be, which is the cause for much of the heavy, almost unpleasable climate the fan community gives off.

Really? The only way I see the series being salvageable is to wipe the slate clean and begin... at least somewhat anew, and see how these scatted pieces of broken glass we call the ‘Sonic canon’ can fit together.

This has been tried once, with Sonic Boom, but it didn’t really end well, and I’d like to change that, so let’s have this hypothetical reboot take the same form as Sonic Boom, as a potential ‘new face’ for the entire series, rather than a spinoff continuity. (I feel like this was the original intention of Sonic Boom, but due to the backlash, was revoked.)

Are you comfortable? Let’s go. It’s gonna be a long-ass, tiring, winding post.

(Seriously I spent fucking 3 days just writing this post. For that reason, there may be a few gRaMatTcul eRors here and there, just bear with me, okay? I’m tired and I just wanna heave out this monster of an idea.)

Housecleaning and on wiping the slate clean

Ok, before we actually get into redoing the series, I wanna make this clear, when I say I want to ‘wipe the slate clean’, that’s sort of an exaggeration. I don’t think Sonic needs to be completely rewritten from scratch, and certain elements of the series DO work very well, so it’s more we’re gonna ‘wipe the slate clean, but immediately redraw things back on, except bigger and better than they were before.’

The reason why is, Sonic the Hedgehog has a kind of ‘hoarder complex’ when it comes to his franchise. As I established earlier, the main problem with rebooting Sonic the Hedgehog as compared to another franchise like, say, Ducktales, or Ghostbusters, is that Sonic the Hedgehog has a lot of lore. Too much lore. Think about the crazy amount of lore surrounding Solaris, Mephiles, Dark and Light Gaia, the Wisps, Chaos, and Tikal, Shadow and the Black Arms, Silver, the Sol Dimension and Blaze, Eggman Nega, the Nocturnus Clan, the list goes on and on and on. It’s head-spinning, it’s confusing, and most of all, obtrusive to what’s actually important in the Sonic Canon versus what seems important.

This isn’t helped by the fact that Sonic has never really had a consistent ground to stand on in terms of his world and where he lives because where he lives changes with every game or new thing Sonic is in. So, introducing these new, complicated gods and grand, sprawling history all of a sudden doesn’t give the world Sonic lives in any ground or any real meaning if it’s just going to be ignored later on when Sonic Forces completely rewrites the world map from Unleashed. (This is a problem I have with the Mario and Kirby series too.)

Even if you claim something like the Sonic Archie comics have consistency in their setting, think about how much the comic’s version of Mobius changed over the course of its lifespan after not only being completely rewritten (thanks Ken Penders. I’m sure your horrific 3d render children are proud.) and two crossovers, not to mention all the subtle shifts and changes the comic made from its debut comic to its cancellation.

So, if we’re going to do this, we need to get this straight right now.

A new Sonic reboot will NEED to cover EVERY base of the Sonic continuity. Games, Comics, Cartoons, Merchandising (with the exception of maybe some anniversary stuff), The Whole Echidna- er, Enchilada.

If the problem with Sonic as it is, is that the continuity is messy because it keeps adding new stuff? THEN STOP FUCKING ADDING NEW STUFF!!

NO ONE’S GONNA LIKE THE NEW STUFF ANYWAY!!

PEOPLE FUCKING HATE CHANGE!!

THIS FRANCHISE IS SO FUCKing MiSTReATED!- FUCK!!

Nah, but seriously. If this reboot is gonna work, then it needs to BE a proper reboot. Not a side-series like Sonic Boom, not an ‘alternate dimension’ to dip into for mainline games, not a one-off series of animated shorts, no quills, no pillows. If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna go all in. At least in terms of continuity.

So, you know what we’re gonna name this reboot?

Sonic the Hedgehog

Just, Sonic the Hedgehog. Yep. All in, indeed.

Audience, Tone, and Genre

I feel maybe I should’ve split these into multiple sections, but, they really all go hand-in-hand. 

If we’re gonna remake Sonic, we gotta first decide how Sonic should feel, and who he’s going to appeal to. So, let’s consider what we’re working with first, based on the history of who Sonic has appealed to.

The whole point of Sonic’s young, hip, snarky personality was to appeal to the American youth of the 1990s (kids, teenagers, and young adults), the young, hip, snarky and coolest people around. Sonic sought to identify with these kids by being a little bit ‘edgier’ and ‘cooler’ than most other cartoon characters of his era, but still with the capability to be as cute, wholesome and inherently charming as his competition. Like the perfect little blend of the sarcastic wit of Bugs Bunny and the lovable personability of Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat.

Many Sonic clones of the 1990s like Bubsy, Aero the Acrobat, and Zero the [CENSORED] Squirrel tried to piggyback off of Sonic in this manner by trying to play up Sonic’s edgy, snarky appeal, but what they lack is that more wholesome, laid back, simple, round and friendly aspects of his design. It’s why Sonic can look like this:

but also like this

like this

but also like this.

It’s why Sonic works so well as a cartoon character in animated shorts and cartoons, as well as an action character in high octane blood pumping action anime, and one of the reasons why I think his design is so appealing. It’s this, this perfect balance between cool superhero and cuddly, wholesome cartoon character that makes Sonic such the iconic character he is.

So what’s the point of me telling you that?

Well, lots of people disagree on what Sonic the Hedgehog’s tone should be, and what audience Sonic should appeal to. Many argue Sonic is a series strictly meant for children, and therefore shouldn’t take any risks and be cutesy, wholesome and bouncy. Others argue Sonic should market itself to teenagers and young adults by pushing its envelope with it’s material and turning itself into a giant melodrama with three-dimensional characters, intertwining relationships and giant, epic Dragon Ball Z style showdowns with blood, guts and the crunching of noses and teeth.

You know what’s popular right now though and seems to have been for a while? A blend of those exact two things.

It sounds dumb but, think about it. Video games and cartoons have been taking this turn toward being a little bit of the best of both worlds. Steven Universe, Undertale/Deltarune, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, even stuff like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, that sort of thing.

So, I think a new Sonic reboot should be an Action/Adventure-Comedy. It’s a series about long, lengthy quests and the ongoing war between nature and machine, but it’s also about a quick-witted cartoon character having fun picking on an overconfident evil scientist and his lackeys.

And you know what? I think Sonic is and has shown that this is the environment he flourishes in. Think about why Sonic Mania Adventures and Team Sonic Racing: Overdrive work so well, or why OK KO: Let’s Meet Sonic! is so great! It places Sonic and co. in an environment in which they have the opportunity to be funny and cartoony, but also leaves itself open to lead into more strict action sequences or serious, emotional moments, should it feel the need to. It lets the characters be the characters, without being impeded by everything needed to be babyproofed, but also not interrupted by fanfic-tier melodramatics every 2 and a half minutes. And, considering how much any media featuring Sonic relies on its characters to garner appeal, this is important.

Besides that, this is also important for something I think is going to make this reboot go from good to great.

: ✧･ﾟ: U N I F I C A T I O N ! :･ﾟ✧ : 

I’ve said this before in my other essay on how I’d reboot Sonic, but I truly feel that bringing together a lot of different elements of Sonic’s history together for this reboot is a top-notch idea for not only bringing the series back together whilst maintaining a wide appeal but also broaden the scope of potential characters, settings, and plot points we can work with, rather than just limiting it to just the classic era, or just the modern era, it also might leave veteran fans wondering just who or what was going to show up in the next game, or next episode!

Why limit ourselves to just a classic-style series or just a modern-style series? Why not mix it up a little?

Let’s take the cute classic stuff and mix it with some of the cool modern stuff!

I mean of course there’s gonna be purists but, hey, if we have a little bit of both we might just start seeing eye to eye!

So, what does that mean for the audience? Well, I think in that sense, Sonic should be able to appeal to, about anyone, really. Adults, Kids, Teenagers, anyone. It’d be like going to see a Marvel Superhero movie in the theaters or watching Spongebob on TV, yeah, it’d be something kids enjoy, but also something young adults can appreciate too. Although if we absolutely have to stick to a demographic, I’d say the ideal targets for a Sonic the Hedgehog reboot are two groups of people specifically.

Older fans of the series who grew up with the Adventure and Classic games, and Younger people who are more familiar with the modern games. As far as drawing new people or embittered old fans in?... Well, we’ll get to that.

Plot synopsis

It may seem like a no-brainer what the plot of Sonic the Hedgehog is, right? Well, of course it is. It’s been the same for over 20 years, and, I think the premise? Is fine.

“Sonic the Hedgehog is the fastest thing alive and a protector of nature who loves adventure. He’s smarmy and mischevious, but with a heart of gold and an unshakable sense of justice with a can-do attitude. His archnemesis, Dr. Eggman, wants to take over his natural, sprawling home and begin building his planet-conquering empire in its place. It’s up to Sonic and his group of friends to defeat Dr. Eggman, and restore peace to the world, and the green back to the hills.”

This? Right here? This is Sonic the Hedgehog. No matter who you ask, from any branch of the franchises thousand-foot tall family tree, this is Sonic the Hedgehog. There’s a couple of doodads and twists here and there depending on the specific game, but that’s really honestly it when you break it all down, that’s the plot of almost every Sonic game. But this can easily get lost and bogged down between all of the God-summoning and all that shit that other Sonic media does.

So, let’s keep the focus on this, and this alone. Just the ongoing misadventures, setbacks, leaps forward, threats and triumphs between Sonic and Co. and the forces of evil.

...(But let’s add the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald, I don’t think I can stand having a Sonic continuity without them and they make for good plot fodder, plus, I’ll be damned if I’m not seeing Super Sonic by the time a series finale or end-of-game hits.)

Setting + Background Lore

So, to set a location, let’s dumb down where Sonic actually lives. (Figuratively anyway, Sonic has no true home, just places he likes to be at any one time.)

In the Genesis days, Sonic lived on a tiny island called South Island, and the game’s settings often took place on South Island or on it’s neighboring islands Westside and Angel Island, and, given how important these old zones, like Green Hill and Chemical Plant Zone, are to the current Sonic Canon, I propose that maybe the setting for this potential reboot takes place on said islands, with one island for each of the cardinal directions on a compass, but also some of the other islands that are included in the Sonic series (as well as some adjusted ones!)

And, as a reference to the days of yore, we could even call it

The Mobius Archipelago

Each of these islands would have their own unique areas (referred to as ‘Zones’ for both nostalgia and convenience’s sake) based on the different levels from Sonic games. I’m unsure of the exact geography of these islands in question, but, you get the idea if you’re at all familiar with the canon, South Island has all the zones from Sonic 1 (16 and 8 Bit), Sonic Chaos and Sonic 2 (8-bit), Westside Island has all the zones from Sonic 2 and a couple from Sonic Mania, Angel Island has all the Zones from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, North Island is essentially a fusion of all the different Eggman Zones (Crystal Egg, Sleeping Egg, Scrap Brain, Metropolis, Eggmanland, Robotropolis, Robotnik Winter, the zones from SegaSonic the Hedgehog, etc.), Flicky’s Island has all of the zones from Sonic 3D Blast, Cocoa Island has all the zones from Tails Skypatrol and Tails Adventure, Mirage Island has all the zones from Sonic 4 and also Never Lake, and Little Planet (and hence all the zones from Sonic CD) you get the idea.

I’m unsure what exactly Eastside Island would have on it, but I figured that Sonic games have so many zones and levels across so many games, surely something would find a nice home on that island, perhaps some of the zones from Sonic Mania, Sonic Blast, maybe even the Adventure games, who knows? But, inevitably, space is going to run out on those other islands and we’ll likely have zones or locations that’ll be good for the series to have.

And then, we also have a mainland sprinkled with City. This is where your Adventure/Modern style cities are, Station Square, City Escape, that sort of thing.

It may not seem like much, considering some Sonic games have settings that span entire planets, but when you think about how many zones are crammed into a few little islands in the genesis titles alone, it’s hardly a limited setting.

The natives of this island chain would be Mobians and Mobini. Mobians are your typical Sonic characters, your Sonics, your Tailses, your Knuckleses, and so on and so forth. They’re the more humanoid animals. Mobini, on the other hand would be all of the smaller animals, the kind that Sonic frees from badniks or are just knockin about doing little woodland creature things. For more information on Mobini, I’ve included a little blip about them in the ‘Side Protagonists’ part of this little shanty ‘pitch guide’.

Humans would live on the mainland, although some researchers and scientists would visit the Archipelago every so often because of it’s mysterious ‘new frontier’ kind of appeal, even if Mobians find their research a little weird.

Generally, Humans also keep to the mainland, and Mobians keep to their islands, but, make no mistake, Mobians and Humans don’t hate each other. Some Mobians and Mobini have taken to the urban lifestyle, whereas some humans have taken to the natural wonder of the Archipelago, starting environmentally friendly cities and towns in the sleepy groves and corners of this untamed wilderness.

This Archipelago would be the point of focus for our Main Characters because, well, it’s their native home, and it’d draw our Main Villains because this island is also home to the Seven Chaos Emeralds, and their Master Emerald.

The Chaos Emeralds are the main MacGuffins of the Sonic series, and for good reason! Gathering all seven of these things grants their holder infinite access to chaos energy, a kind of force that will turn their thoughts into power, whether positive or negative. While most Mobians would prefer to leave the Chaos Emeralds alone, due to them causing, well, chaos, villains seek these gems out on purpose so that they can easier accomplish their goals. However, if a hero were to gather all seven chaos emeralds, and had enough purity, desire for good, and strength in their heart, the emeralds will grant them immense power, too.

Upon a vast amount of energy being used however, the Emeralds will scatter across the Archipelago, waiting for their next holders to come, and initiate chaos once more.

And then, there’s the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald is very similar to the Chaos Emeralds, and contains tenfold the amount of energy of a full set of Chaos Emeralds, but also acts as an on/off switch for the Chaos Emeralds. The Master Emerald can completely drain the Chaos Emeralds of their power, or multiply their power exponentially if one knows how to control it, making the Master Emerald incredibly valuable too. However, villains usually tend to opt for the Chaos Emeralds instead, not only because legends of the Master Emerald are believed to be false, or even if it is real, no one knows how to control it, but the Master Emerald is also said to have a guardian. A very, very angry guardian.

There’s also the lesser-known Time Stones.

The Time Stones reside on Little Planet, an anomalous celestial body that appears only once every year over Never Lake on Mirage Island. These stones seemed to have formed in a similar fashion to the Chaos Emeralds, but rather than bending SPACE to the will of their holders, the Time Stones will instead, bend Time. The Time Stones, for this reason, are even more dangerous than the Chaos Emeralds and are responsible for many of the temporal anomalies within the Archipelago. Due to their danger, the Time Stones see much more infrequent use than the Chaos Emeralds, and keeping them on Little Planet as opposed to bringing them to the surface of the Earth is much safer, as the Time Stones will only seemingly affect the time stream of Little Planet and not the Earth.

The Time Stones won’t matter until later in the series when Sonic and Co. start tampering with time, and for a while, the focus will remain on the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald.

But enough about where Sonic lives, let’s look at him and the rest of our colorful main cast, shall we?

Main Protagonists

Hooh, boy I am not gonna make many friends with this decision, am I?

This is kinda where my reboot starts to get a lot little tiny bit more personal, but, I have reasoning behind picking who I pick. The characters I’d pick to be the main protagonists, as in the characters that the viewers of the cartoon series, readers of the comic, or players of the games are going to be:

A) Playing as

B) Rooting for

C) Following throughout most of the adventures.

are as follows:

Sonic the Hedgehog

Miles “Tails” Prower

Knuckles the Echidna

Amy Rose

Mighty the Armadillo

Ray the Flying Squirrel

The first two seem obvious enough, Sonic and Tails are the two spotlight protagonists of most Sonic games and are the two chief playable characters in most games of the Genesis Era. Knuckles should come as no surprise either for the same reason, although I’ll touch on Knuckles later when I assess the protagonists on an individual level. 

I chose Amy as one of the leads because, well, Amy frankly hasn’t seen that much time in the sun as a true character, and I feel like that’s a shame given her longevity in the series, being with us ever since CD. Her most complex appearance was in Sonic Adventure 1 and even then, she’s kinda reduced to the same traits as her white-bread, palid, boring, Genesis counterpart. While I would like to have another female character so Amy isn’t a ‘token chick’, I don’t really want to shake up the formula too much.

Mighty and Ray are a little bit different. With the release of Sonic Mania Plus though, I feel that Mighty and Ray are more relevant now than they ever were, and considering their placement as main characters in Mania Plus, I think that we could really benefit from their addition to the main lineup of Sonic’s friends! Sure, Mighty and Ray don’t have much personality, but maybe this is where we can change that and give these lost stars a chance to sparkle as main characters after spending so long in the shadows of the past!

However, I do wanna state, that I understand if some people feel Mighty and Ray are irrelevant. I get that, really, I do. It’s one of the things in this projected reboot that I feel is much more personally appealing to me than it is ‘what I think is best for the Sonic franchise’. Put plain and simple, Mighty and Ray are just... not as popular as other Sonic characters. And, adding these two to the roster of main characters means that the main character count skyrockets from an easily manageable 4 to 6, which can seem like a bit much to some people I’ll agree, and means that they’ll likely see more screentime than other popular protagonist characters like Cream, Silver or even Blaze. But, at the same time, I also feel that if they’re popular enough to be included in Sonic Mania Plus, then there at least is some interest in the fan community of them being relevant, regular characters again. And, what better niche for them to fit into than being two of Sonic’s close friends again while going on adventures with him regularly?

(Side note, I also felt like including Sticks as a main character, and I may come back to that idea later if I end up making any content for this reboot, but as it stands I felt 7 main characters were just a bit too much, although it would’ve been cool to have a character for each Chaos Emerald, and I think there are a lot of real, genuine comedic possibilities, as well as some unique action choreography from her.)

I also don’t think Sonic’s design or the design of his friends need to be changed around too terribly much for a reboot? (Although there are some characters I think could benefit from a rework, but Sonic and MOST of the main characters are okay imo) There’s a lot of contention on Sonic’s design in any sense but, personally? I think Sonic’s designs can actually be pretty well unified, all things considered. I think Sonic could benefit from a few design ADJUSTMENTS, but maybe not a full-scale redesign like Sonic Boom.

For instance, these early concepts for Dreamcast Sonic are an excellent starting place, as I feel they capture the spirit of all three versions of Sonic pretty well all things considered, save for their quills being a little long. the proportions on them are a little off, however, with a couple of adjustments, I think this could actually be a really good idea.

Nendoroid Sonic is also pretty close to what I think a unified Sonic design could look like, if someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick an ideal new design for Sonic, it’d probably be very close to this.

(Credit to JaysonJeanChannel on DA for this render of Nendoroid Sonic.)

Or, even moving back a little bit, “Toei Sonic“, although kind of overrated in my opinion, is a really nice compromise between the cutesy, cartoony nature of the original versions of Sonic, while still updating Sonic to be more obviously sleek, sharp and spring-loaded for his modern audiences, and is full of personality. That’s not to say I think Toei Sonic should be the new face of Sonic the Hedgehog for years to come, but it’d be a great starting point to work from, given that Toei is a version of Sonic suited for intense, rubberhosy, slippery animations.

In the end, the only thing that truly matters is that Sonic looks like Sonic, and not like a weird little blue goblin if the backlash on the first pass of the Sonic Movie is any indication? We shouldn’t try to fix what isn’t broken, I just think that maybe trying out a hybrid between classic and modern Sonic to see how people feel about it might be a nice compromise between those who prefer Classic Sonic vs. those who prefer Modern or Adventure Sonic, again, unification, the best of both worlds.

That being said, let’s have a look-see into each character individually, shall we? For this, I’ll give a name, my projected voice actor for them, and a little blurb about their personality, as well as a short list of their abilities.

I’ll also try to justify my reasons for some stuff that people may consider odd after all of the character bios.

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Voice Actor: Ben Schwartz/James Arnold Taylor

Sonic is heroic, ambitious, and a complete adrenaline junkie. He'll take on any challenge that's given to him in the history of forever, even if absolutely knows it's impossible or he could get hurt trying to do it or he's absolutely not skilled enough at what he's doing to do it. Hence, Sonic is extremely competitive and gets easily absorbed in things he does, even around friends. Sonic tends to not look before he leaps as he's able to get himself out of situations so easily, preferring to live on his feet without thinking too hard about anything, although he's not dumb by any stretch of the imagination and will slow down and strategize if he absolutely needs to, and will always be willing to slow down for someone in need. Sonic is cocky, snarky, and believes a little too much in himself, he has an ego the size of the sun and will do anything he has to protect his image, especially how he views himself. Sonic also has an incredible amount of attitude and makes fun of people he doesn't like or thinks deserve it with insulting nicknames or cruel jokes, often being sarcastic and witty even at the worst of times to be. Although Sonic tries as hard as he can to keep his cool a lot of the time and prefers to live without consequences or regrets on his mind, when he's angry, sometimes he can lash out at people and can become downright completely rude when upset. Sonic is also something of a juvenile delinquent, often breaking rules just because he can or he thinks it's fun or funny, which often gets him into trouble. Sonic EXTREMELY Dislikes being called 'slow' or things being faster than he is (often wanting to prove his mettle against whatever is faster than him even if it hurts him), and has even less patience for slowing down unless he absolutely has to. He hates to wait and hates to be kept waiting, oftentimes getting bored and leaving in mere seconds if a situation doesn't matter that much to him, although he's known to show much, much more patience when people are hurt, or upset, and has an affinity for relaxing for long periods of time with friends after lengthy expeditions and adventures. Sonic hates to see innocent people cry or have their feelings hurt and will often get  extremely upset at the cause depending on the person/situation, and believes that any situation he can tend to is important (as he often can do things so quickly it's often no trouble for him.) 

Abilities:

Insta-Shield (Allows Sonic to deflect incoming projectiles with precise timing. This also extends Sonic’s hitbox a bit so it can inflict damage, and gives him invincibility frames!)

Wall Jump (Sonic can wall jump, but they need to be timed properly, as when Sonic lands on a wall, he’ll begin to slide, sliding down a wall for too long will cause Sonic to slip and eventually fall.)

Super Spin Dash (Sonic can rev his spin dash up much faster and much more efficiently than other characters, Sonic’s spin dash also has higher maximum propulsion, and will break walls much quicker.)

Super Peel Out

Light Dash (Using the light dash on a trail of rings will allow Sonic to pick up vast amounts of speed instantly by traveling along a trail of rings, being slingshotted out of the trail at an intense speed, the longer the trail of rings is, the faster he’ll be when he comes out of the trail, but also the more vulnerable he’ll be when he’s flung out of the trail. Sonic can also easily reclaim his fallen rings by light dashing, but there’s no guarantee you won’t go flying into the hazard you just tried to avoid when you do.)

Can use the abilities of elemental shields

Miles "Tails" Prower: 

Voice Actor: Collen Villard 

Tails is Sonic's closest friend. Tails is very intelligent and is something of an amateur technician, roboticist and mechanic, although he specializes in work with aircrafts, small-scale robotics, and computer systems. Frequently he prefers a much slower, methodical approach to problems as opposed to rushing into everything headfirst like Sonic does. Often relies on his intuition over instinct. Tails feels he and Sonic hold a kind of 'mutual responsibility' over each other to keep each other safe, hence Tails keeps Sonic out of trouble or from doing things that are REALLY REALLY stupid, but most of the time, Tails likes to indulge in Sonic's antics with him and even enjoys being kind of silly or being a rebel with him. Tails really looks up to Sonic and wants to have the same kind of respect, cool and wit that he does, however, in doing this, because of his low self-esteem, Tails will often ignore a lot of his more positive traits and attempt to mimic Sonic instead in an effort to seem 'cool', which can really make him do some out-of-place or seemingly strange things at times when he doesn't mean it because he can be a little shy to be himself. Tails is a firmly humble inventor and often attributes his successes to the support of others more often than his own work, and he will not ever invent anything for the purpose of competing with someone or for the sake of jealousy, believing that his best work comes from his heart.

Abilities:

Flying (This would be nerfed significantly from Sonic Mania and S3&K so Tails couldn’t just fly over everything. Tails’ gameplay should encourage exploration in more ways than just one.)

Spin Dash

Tinkering (Allows Tails to reverse conveyor belts, turn off sawblades, and do other shit to help him get through mechanical levels.)

Ring Bomb (Short range projectile at the cost of rings, explodes in a small radius)

Remote Robot (Allows Tails to explore places he can’t otherwise get to at the cost of 1 ring per second)

Knuckles the Echidna: 

Voice Actor: Dan Green 

The key word to Knuckles is STRESS. Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald, and boy does he take his job seriously, being the very last living Mobian Echidna, and being very in-tune with his family and extended tribe's history. He has an inherent connection with the Master Emerald that allows him to sense it's location, wherever it might be, if this feeling of his is tampered with only slightly, it sends Knuckles into an incredible, panicked rage that can only be quelled by returning the gem to where he left it, or by retrieving the gemstone from whoever stole or moved it. He will only leave the emerald alone for long periods of time once he is one-hundred percent confident no one will touch it or move it (and even then he oftentimes gets worried about it anyway) and hence, interacts with Team Sonic on a more infrequent basis because of this (although he still has plenty of moments dedicated to him.) However, when not guarding the Emerald and forced to loosen up and relax, one can find that Knuckles is rather stoic and full of quote en quote 'sage-advice' (or rather stuff that seems and can be profound but can also be kind of insane ramblings from someone who spends too much time alone with some rock.) He often doesn't understand Sonic's more urban lifestyle, preferring his more traditional, simple 'off the fat of the land' kind of life, but he's surprisingly receptive to new things (unless said new thing gets the emerald stolen of course.) Knuckles is also incredibly suspicious and paranoid of people, even believing people he's close to having the capability of turning on him, and because of this, he's incredibly gullible when it comes to people 'changing' or 'turning evil' or 'wanting to take the Master Emerald', although he's usually smart enough to not fall for the same trick twice... or at least, not for a while after it happens once. Because of his ability to be tricked so easily, and because tricking him often leads to bad things, Knuckles' temper and patience are very short, and very small things easily can make him very upset. Knuckles actually has a weakness for romance, being such a lonely soul, he often gets shy and acts noticeably different (read: Happier) around people that can charm him, but often won't admit it.

Abilities:

Gliding

Climbing

Spin Dash

Burrowing (works sort of like the burrow mechanic from Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, except Knuckles can remain and move underground for a bit to be invincible, although this ability is very limited and cannot be done on metal or synthetic flooring.)

Melee Attacks (Knuckles can punch things in a short range, nuff said.)

Amy Rose: 

Voice Actor: Kristen Schaal 

Amy is positive, bubbly, loud and honestly kind of a silly airhead sometimes. Although at first, it seems there's very little to her, there's actually a lot more to her than her outward appearance would suggest. Amy tends to not judge people by their looks or by their behaviors, and is very open-minded and emotional, often getting choked up over things she really doesn't need to. Amy is also pretty selfless, willing to help people without any benefit to herself or any reason besides being a good person, although that's not to say she just lets people walk all over her. Amy is also something of a social butterfly, having connections with about everyone anyone else even remotely knows, and can easily tell you all about them and will want you to meet them upon even the mention of their name. Her inherent energy makes her a lot to deal with at once, even people like Sonic, Tails, and Mighty can get tired of her very quickly, even if it's very clear that she means well. She also makes for a great therapist and is willing to help anyone with problems they might be having, even if they push her away at first. However, Amy isn't all the girly girl she seems sometimes and has kind of a violent edge, anyone who pushes her around or says anything bad about her friends is gonna get walloped with her hammer, and believe me, you don't ever quite forget a feeling like being Piko'd by Amy Rose. On this note, Amy also kinda... doesn't know her own strength, and can seem stronger than Knuckles, or even Mighty at times because she just absolutely does not know her limits, expect lots of spine-crushing hugs.

Abilities:

Triple Jump (Amy can jump three times in succession, however, each jump significantly degrades in height boost. Her normal jump will go the highest and her third jump will go the lowest. Because of this ability, Amy also does not spin when she jumps, meaning she can’t defeat Badniks or damage enemies by jumping on them, she won’t take damage from bouncing on them, it just won’t destroy them.)

Hammer Smash (A mid-range melee attack that will destroy most enemies instantly.)

Hammer Spin (Both an Aerial attack to make up for the fact Amy can’t spin jump and a dash attack to make up for the fact Amy can’t spin dash.)

Peel Out (Functions similarly to the peel out in Sonic Advance or Sonic 2: Pink Edition, replaces the Spin Dash.)

Mighty the Armadillo: 

Voice Actor: Beck Bennett/Travis Willingham 

Mighty is one of Sonic's oldest friends and is his foil in a lot of ways. He prefers to take his time with a lot of things and doesn't really mind going slow. Mighty is something of a 'meathead', he's naive, and kinda absentminded at times, even if he doesn't mean to be. Mighty is very strong and takes incredible pride in his abilities much like Sonic. He adores his own strength and quote en quote 'manliness' and will do anything to keep his ego inflated and his muscles bigger than everyone else's' (as opposed to Knuckles who views his strength as a humble reward for his years of training). Despite this, he has a very brotherly (read: dudebro) sense of personality though and likes to call people 'bro' and 'sis', and has a habit of saying 'not cool' when things don't go right or when people wrong him. Most of the time, Mighty's slow and naive ways can make him easily influenced into believing things (like conspiracies and the idea protein powder actually does things), and he's not afraid to speak his mind, often coming off as insensitive (which is how he got kicked out of Team Chaotix), when really, he just doesn't happen to know any better, although most of the time he really does mean well. Mighty also really likes to hear himself talk, oftentimes telling long-winded stories or going on long-winded rants or explanations. He tends to butt heads with Sonic and Knuckles, who get annoyed sometimes by his easygoing, borderline dim-witted nature, oftentimes reminding him of obvious things that are happening/have happened. However, Mighty greatly cares for his friends, and the one thing he absolutely will never bend on is he will not ever hurt someone who didn't do him wrong, and despite his naivety, Mighty's incredible sense of justice always triumphs over his unassuming nature. He's also Ray's best friend and will defend Ray over any other person.

Abilities:

Natural Armor (Allows Mighty to take one free hit from spikes, and defeat spiked enemies without being harmed. If a projectile hits Mighty while he’s spinning or jumping, the projectile will bounce off of his armor. This is only while Mighty is spinning, attacks from the back or while Mighty is running will still land.)

Hammer Drop (A ‘stomp’ attack that allows Mighty to crush most Badniks instantly, and will also instantly crush breakable objects and solid blocks much faster than other characters.)

Spin Dash

Mighty Arm (If Mighty presses an action button near an enemy, monitor or breakable item, Mighty will pick it up. While picking something up, Mighty will move slower and his jump will be downgraded, but he can throw the item to deal heavy damage to whatever it hits! And, picking up certain enemies or items may just come with some surprises!)

Super Wall Jump (Mighty can wall-jump much like Sonic, but upon sticking to the wall, Mighty will hang there, and will only slide down at the player’s discretion.)

Ray the Flying Squirrel: 

Voice Actor: Debi Derryberry 

Ray is neat, quiet, shy, easily disturbed and has a bit of a stutter to his voice. Ray tends to be sort of asocial compared to other members of Team Sonic and prefers not to get in the way if he thinks he's being a bother. However, despite this, Ray is much smarter than he might seem and has a level of resourcefulness to a point that even trumps Tails (who is much more intelligent) at times. Despite being so shy and cowardly, when he gets the chance, Ray is more than willing to do whatever it takes for the greater good, even if he's afraid to do so. Mighty is his best friend, and he gets obsessively worried about Mighty when he's not around, often worrying that he's wandered off or might have been hurt, kidnapped, etc. this often leads to Ray trying to find his friend or panicking that he's 'gone missing', even if Mighty was right under his nose the whole time, ironic, given his intuition and incredibly eagle-eyed nature. Much like Mighty as well, Ray can also be a little bit naive, although usually less so than Mighty himself.

Abilities:

Soaring (Ray will glide and can sweep upwards to gain height at a cost of speed, but also dip downwards to gain speed at a cost of height.)

Lite-Climbing (Ray can climb, and he can climb much faster than Knuckles, but players will need to position themselves carefully, as Ray can’t climb forever, and will eventually slip and fall, the more speed Ray has when Ray collides with the wall, the faster and longer he can climb it.)

Scout-Sense (Ray is able to detect hidden items nearby like Giant Rings, 1up Monitors, and power-ups, once Ray moves close enough to an item, an exclamation point will appear above his head, and the item he notices will be outlined in yellow.)

Dismantle (With similar timing to Sonic’s insta-shield, Ray can choose to land on a badnik instead of destroying it (even if he lands on something like a Shellcracker’s claw or Bubbles when spiked out), and he will begin to unscrew the badnik until it breaks. This rewards Ray with rings or more hidden items, and can make tricky badniks like Asteron and Shellcracker more bearable to deal with! This also works on bosses, except dismantling a boss will only cause a hit of damage to the boss, although Ray can stay latched on to deal multiple hits of damage if he isn’t knocked off!)

Hookay, if you’re not winded by all those character bios, let me try to explain some of my reasoning. I won’t be doing this with later characters because this post is already the size of a fucking dump truck, but, here we go anyway.

Yes. I chose Ben Schwartz over Roger Craig Smith and Jason Griffith for Sonic. No. I don’t hate Jason Griffith or Roger Craig Smith’s voices for Sonic. Yes, I realize Ben is going to play Sonic in the Movie. I know. But, you know what? I think Ben is the perfect person to play Sonic, he’s able to inflect a real smarmy teenager vibe and I DO like that a LOT. But Ben can also play a deeper or moodier teenager too, and I feel like that’s important for Sonic’s character just as much. Jason Griffith and Roger Craig Smith make a 15-year-old sound like he’s 24. Moving on.

I think Sonic needs to not be such a prep sometimes like he is in Colors, Generations, and Forces. Like, I get that Sonic is all about doing the right thing, but, Sonic is also a smarty-pants delinquent who disrespects authority because he can. There’s this great video on the design analysis of City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2 that shows just how much of a jerk Sonic is toward people he doesn’t care for, and how he feels about obeying rules and regulations. I feel being an asshole toward people he doesn’t like, is part of Sonic’s character, it’s just we need to make him an asshole in the right direction. Sonic can be a Bugs Bunny if we let him, it’s just that it shouldn’t be completely overblown... otherwise, we get STC Sonic.

Tails needs to do more things, and not sit on the sidelines like he does in Unleashed, Colors, and Forces. He does things in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Boom, hence this version of Tails is based more on those versions OF Tails. I don’t hate Unleashed and Colors Tails, but I feel the objectively superior version of Tails comes more from Boom (who I also feel captures all of the good things about Modern Tails ANYWAY) and Adventure (which is Tails at his most resourceful, intelligent and helpful.)

Knuckles needs to be not stupid. We can make other characters stupid, but Knuckles is not stupid, Mania made Knuckles stupid and I hate that because it’s never been who Knuckles is. Sure, he’s a bit of a dense knucklehead, but he’s not dumb, just dense, which is my problem with Boom Knuckles. There’s more to his reasons for why he does things the way he does than he doesn’t know better. He’s stubborn, he’s prone to anger, he’s traditional and very much centered on the past he never had, he worries, he panics. I don’t think Boom Knuckles is a bad character, I just think making KNUCKLES the character to get this personality was kind of a bad idea. 

Amy just needs a better-developed personality. Seriously, she’s, already kinda set in stone in terms of who she is, it just needs to be expanded upon. But, Amy kinda already has the groundwork laid out for her with Boom and Modern, it’s just it needs to be molded a little bit.

Mighty comes from the classic era, and he, therefore, has no real, defining personality traits besides being a wall-jumping armadillo. I think Mighty could easily inherit Boom Knux’s personality, (as I feel a character named ‘Mighty’ would have kind of a strongman, meathead personality) but maybe changed up a bit. Instead of being just, dumb, I think Mighty being more oblivious than just stupid is better, plus, at any one time, most of the characters in-game or onscreen are able to deduce what’s going on instantly, having Mighty be a contrast to that is interesting. I also think a slow, easygoing lifestyle is kinda befitting to the Mighty we’ve seen recently, given that he doesn’t seem to emote all that much when Ray finally finds him after he’s been missing for, well, a good while, and doesn’t seem to know his own strength all the time. The only other information I know about Mighty is that he doesn’t like to fight all that much and he’s similar to Sonic, so I tried to include aspects of Sonic in his personality, but also make him kind where he can be.

If Ray’s SegaSonic sprites are anything to go by, Ray just might be a little bit of a scaredy-cat. And, I think this would make for an interesting dynamic between Ray and the rest of the team, he’d make a nice Luigi to everyone’s Mario, a character who is afraid, but willing to set aside his fears for the greater good and even for himself. He’d also be #relatable to the stressed-out teenage and young adult audience he’d be appealing to. 

Side Protagonists

Here are my choices for side-protagonists in this reboot. These are ‘friendly characters’, characters that the main 6 characters regularly interact with, but are just not focused on as much. These characters would probably not be playable (except for Silver and Blaze MAYBE.)

The Mobini

Espio the Chameleon

Charmy Bee

Vector the Crocodile

Cream the Rabbit (and Cheese the Chao)

Big the Cat (and Froggy)

Silver the Hedgehog

Blaze the Cat

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

wHerE’s TeaM DaRK?!

Just, chill out..., okay? I’ll get to Team Dark in a minute.

I’d also like to clarify if this became a series, Silver and Blaze are probably not going to become relevant characters until much LATER in? I feel like Silver and Blaze should be saved for a very specific time in the reboot’s continuity and I’ll explain that later when we get into how I’d set this series’s continuity up, but there’s a very specific reason why I want to save Silver and Blaze for when the time is right, not because I hate Silver and Blaze, but because I think it’d make the most sense.

I also feel like the Chaotix should appear a lot more and play more of an active role in this new hypothetical reboot than they do in most modern Sonic games... and let’s make them a team of vigilantes instead of detectives. A team of vigilantes that uses TEAMWORK!... And combi-rings!

...Oh and while we’re here, let’s make Cheese a Hero Chao, mkay?

But enough talk about general things! Let’s dive into each of them individually!

The Mobini:

Voice Actor: Various, it’s likely mobini won’t need voices so much as varying sound effects.

The Mobini are the local, native, feral fauna of the world of this new Sonic reboot, all your normal birds, insects, lizards, fish, mammals, et cetera are all Mobini. Mobini, are mysterious creatures, as they harbor an inherent connection to the Chaos Emeralds, and are believed to contain small fractions of the Emeralds’ infinite energy. The Mobini are what first drew Dr. Eggman to the Archipelago in which South Island resides, as with this small portion of infinite energy within them, they can be used as organic batteries to power machines indefinitely!... Although this makes them very unhappy. Contrary to what you may think, Mobini are actually sentient, and remember friendly faces... and unfriendly ones too, so be kind! If you’re ever in trouble or lost in the sprawling forests of the Mobius Archipelago, Mobini may just be able to help you out. The most curious kind of Mobini are Flickies, small little birds native to Flicky’s Island and South Island (although they’ve seemed to branch out more recently), who are said to have an even closer connection to the Emeralds, and can even hold a super form! The phenomenon of Super Flickies is incredibly rare, but when it happens, Super Flickies will be more than willing to lend their power to someone who needs it.

Chao are a special type of genetically unstable Mobini that have no ‘Earthly’ counterpart. From the time a Chao is born to the time they pass away, a Chao will gain the traits of its parent, it’s friends, and or it’s caregiver. This makes Chao ideal pets, as their personality will adapt to suit their owner, this makes Chao not only incredibly diverse but surprisingly intelligent. Just be kind to Chao... you don’t want to know what kind of horror being unkind to these little creatures can lead to.

Espio the Chameleon:

Voice Actor: Phil LaMarr

The de-facto leader of the Chaotix, and the most responsible of the team, Espio is a lot quieter than most of the main cast, and much prefers the sound of a rushing, serene stream over loud, punchy rock music. With a powerful, free-flowing fighting style inspired by martial arts, Espio is an honorable fighter, believing only in fighting fair and straight and without exploiting an opponent’s extreme weaknesses. While he tends to be sort of reclusive and becomes easily annoyed by the antics of the Chaotix and Team Sonic, he’s a lot more unshakable than he looks, and actually kind of likes the excitement from time to time. He also has a long, sticky tongue which he happens to be embarrassed by, but sees more use as a tool than he’d like to admit. Espio will often dictate his mood or state of mind to people by changing his color.

Espio’s weapons of choice are giant shuriken, which he seems to be able to pull out of hammerspace.

Abilities:

Color changing

Partial Invisibility (Espio can cloak himself to appear invisible, as long as he stands still and isn’t connected to anything. This ability sees more frequent use when Espio is alone, as it doesn’t really apply much when he fights with his team.)

Combi-Ring Fighting Style

Tornado Spin (Similar to Sonic’s Spin Dash, except Espio spins horizontally instead of vertically, the tornado spin is very slow compared to the Spin Dash, but it’s just as deadly.)

Tongue (Much like Yoshi, Espio’s tongue can be used to grapple onto things with a surprising amount of force, either to pull them toward Espio, or Espio can ‘tongue punch’ things. He hates to do this.)

Charmy Bee:

Voice Actor: Sam Lavagnino (Ideally anyway, I understand if he’d be unable to, but imagine it! Catbug as Charmy Bee!)

A ‘junior member’ of the Chaotix, Charmy is a little bee in training to become a vigilante! However, he’s a little too excited about that fact sometimes. He’s meant to be cute and lovable, but also a realistic child fighting against things he probably shouldn’t be fighting against. It’s hard to hate him when he means so well though and tries his very best at anything he does. In this new reboot, Charmy also gains a small affliction toward electricity!

Abilities:

Flight (no duh.)

Combi-Ring Fighting Style (Charmy is surprisingly adept at carrying his fellow Chaotix members around with a Combi-Ring in hand, with Charmy around this can make for some high-octane, high-momentum fighting due to Charmy being so lightweight and quick.)

Volt Sting (Charmy can use his stinger, and believe me, it hurts. Fortunately, Charmy can sting more than once! and his sting will deliver an electric shock to anything it touches, this is bad news for anything mechanical, or wet!)

Thunder Shoot (Charmy can instantly ground any flying enemy by electrifying an ally and tossing them at the flying enemy!)

Vector the Crocodile:

Voice Actor: Keith Silverstein (Although I’m open to someone else if everyone else if sick of FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM!)

The Chaotix’s greedy, but fiercely defensive ‘leader’ (he’s able to make tough decisions a lot better than Espio, but he isn’t very responsible in many ways). Vector got into the whole vigilante business because of the money he could gain from it, but after meeting Charmy and Espio, his whole world changed, and the rough-and-tough reptile has found a new calling, being a leader. Although Vector is often harsh, blunt, and dismissive, he’s also incredibly resourceful and has an eye for small details, so if he does push you away, it’s likely because he has a hunch on something related to it.

Abilities:

Air Dash (Vector can dash in any direction while in the air. This does not protect him from harm.)

Death Roll (Vector’s trademark donut-like Spin Dash, it’s a bit less controllable than a traditional Spin Dash but it’s immensely powerful because of Vector’s spiked back.)

Combi-Ring Fighting Style (Vector specializes in a ‘wrecking ball’ sort of display with his fighting style, performing a Death Roll followed by his opponents flinging him into something by way of Thunder Shoot or Espio’s speed.) Vector can also achieve the same effect by flinging Charmy or Espio into an opponent, or by ‘holding’ (think Knuckles Chaotix) them.

Fire Combination + Volcanic Dunk* (While Espio is tornado spinning and Charmy is spinning as well, Vector can grab the both of them to make ‘fighting gloves’ of sorts. With this, Vector can perform the Volcanic Dunk, in which he turns Espio and Charmy into powerful fireballs which can smash into enemies to deal tremendous damage!)

*Yes I know this is what Team Sonic uses in Sonic Heroes but do you honestly want Vector Breath to be something that’s regularly used?

Cream the Rabbit (and Cheese the Chao):

Voice Actor: Michelle Ruff (I’d list a voice actor for Cheese too but... do I HAVE to? Chao can be easily voiced with stock squeaks or Chao sounds from SA2.)

A pleasant little girl who seems to get caught up in the ongoing war between Sonic and the forces of evil. Like Charmy, she’s a kid, although Cream is much more patient and polite than Charmy. Cream in this reboot would sorta fill the niche that Tails filled in SatAM, rarely going on adventures, but looking up to the main cast and always being ready to support them in times of need.

Abilities:

Flapping (Cream can flap her ears to gain a little extra height, although it’s made very clear this isn’t exactly equal to Tails’ flight and is very limited.)

Cheese (Cream can sic Cheese on anything she wants, although Cheese isn’t very tough, he’ll do his best until he’s knocked away!)

Big the Cat (and Froggy):

Voice Actor: Jon St. John

Big is large, and not very bright, even less so than Mighty. But he’s terrifyingly strong, he may just be one of the strongest characters in this new reboot in terms of raw damage output, probably second only to Omega actually. But, Big’s not a fighter and prefers to spend his days by the lakeside, fishing with his companion Froggy.

Unbeknownst to him, though, Froggy harbors a dark secret, and, in fact, is the current owner of the tail of the ancient God of Destruction, Chaos. How Froggy exactly came upon Chaos’ tail is unknown, but it’s gotten Big and Froggy into trouble before.

Abilities:

Super Strength

Fishing Sense (Big can sense what kind of fish or how many fish, or even foreign objects or other animals are in bodies of water. It’s unknown how he does or knows this, but he does.)

Silver the Hedgehog:

Voice Actor: Scott Menville

Silver is from an alternate future, a long-forgotten timeline in which Robotnik succeeded in conquering the world, But his massive cities and factories were later laid waste to by the sands of time, and ancient forces of nature, throwing the future Silver resides within into complete Crisis. And now, filled with a sense of vengeance and justice, Silver has come back to the past, determined to find the one responsible for whoever did this to his future, but... there’s just a couple problems. 

He’s only fourteen years old.

Silver is also rather bright-eyed and gullible, and him messing with the streams of time might have a bigger domino effect than he realizes, even if he has no intention of messing anything up.

Abilities:

Psychokinesis (Silver can move, and throw objects with his mind. Silver’s telekinesis is limited only by his focus and stress, as if Silver gets too stressed, he may release some of the objects he’s holding, the same goes for if he becomes unfocused. Using said telekinesis can make Silver very physically exhausted though, especially if Silver moves HIMSELF with his mind, which he can do to hover in the air for a while. Objects held by Silver will freeze, suspended in whatever state they were in when Silver grabbed them, and the objects Silver holds are denoted by a cyan aura.)

Psychic Knives (Silver can condense his energy into crescent-shaped blades of energy, which he can fire off at his discretion, again, only limited by his physical exhaustion)

Teleportation (Silver has the limited ability to teleport short distances, although he doesn’t seem to have a very good handle on it, as he often messes up his positioning and seems to almost... forget he can do it?)

Blaze the Cat:

Voice Actor: Tara Strong

Like Silver, Blaze is from an alternate future. Blaze is Silver’s best friend, but also kind of a sisterly figure to him. Blaze is older than Silver, and is much more reserved, mature and wary than Silver is, although she’s still more than happy to help Silver, and ensure a good future for both him and herself. Blaze is proud, trying to make the best out of her situation by trying and believing herself to be the best around, in a way, she sort of views Silver more like a sidekick, even if Silver does tend to pull his weight.

Abilities:

Pyrokinesis (Blaze can summon, control and is immune to fire. Her ability to do so is limited, although her fires are known to become more intense whenever Blaze is enraged. Blaze can use her fire either for offense by spraying jets of flame from her hands, or defensively by cloaking her entire body in flame, or using the power of fire to float for short periods of time.)

Tornado Spin (Like Espio, Blaze tends to spin horizontally rather than vertical, this, combined with her pyrokinesis, makes her incredibly fearsome to deal with.)

Main Antagonists

You know what the fuck’s going on already. These are all my picks for Major Villains in the reboot. The big bads. The guys who are gonna come in and try to take all those Chaos Emeralds and Time Stones and shit I was talking about and wreak havoc on the peaceful Mobius Archipelago.

They are as follows:

Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

Orbot and Cubot

Metal Sonic

Heavy King (And the Hard-Boiled Heavies)

Great Battle Bird Kukku XV

Chaos

Emerl

Mephiles, Iblis, and Solaris

In the end, it was hard to decide on what villains to choose to be big bads, Sonic has so many good ones, but this is what it all bled down to eventually. I feel kinda like Dragon Ball Z or... like, any fucking action anime or cartoon ever tbh. I wanted to give some more underrated villains a chance to shine like Kukku and Emerl, while also bringing back some old favorites like Chaos and Mephiles.

...ALSO, I’M GONNA GET TO TEAM DARK DON’T WORRY!

Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik:

Voice Actor: Mike Pollock (as if there were any other choice.)

Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik is the biggest bad in this reboot, as he should be. Robotnik was formerly a young, gentleman scientist, who arrived on South Island with his colleague, Dr. Madonna to study the Mobini that lived there, however, using the grant money meant for his research, and not much caring about nature himself, Robotnik instead betrayed Dr. Madonna to begin forging an empire with his own two hands, an Empire he believed would eventually be able to conquer the world. And he would’ve gotten away with it, too... if all not for a meddlesome blue hedgehog child, who REALLY liked to compare the doctor to an egg. Since his first outing against the blue blur, Dr. Robotnik tried tirelessly, day and night, to get his empire up and into the air, coming back with bigger, and better firepower each time, even succeeding in conquering South Island and collecting six of the seven chaos emeralds at one point, but he was thwarted by this blue hedgehog, and later, his friends each time. This war has gone on for over 5 years now chronologically and maybe more in the actual scheme of things, and all those years of trying have really quite nipped at the doctor, who had gained a significant amount of weight, became a social pariah and had torn all his hair out, save for his mustache, which has overgrown and has become frayed, and the doctor had taken the name ‘Eggman’ as a shallow attempt to mock the blue blur. It’s not to say that Eggman hasn’t succeeded, his conquest and lust for power had bled everywhere, his Badniks, a series of small robots built by him, are an epidemic across the archipelago, he has factories, operations, and eyes everywhere, and Robotnik eventually succeeded in taking one of the Archipelago's many islands for his own, renaming what was once ‘North Island’ into ‘Eggmanland’, this little island is only a twisted glimpse into the madness of what a world under the doctor’s control could look like, his own personal carnival of evil, smog and dust, celebrating him, and only him. It’s these little successes, as well as his never-ending stubbornness and undying believe that man can and will always triumph over nature, that has warped Dr. Eggman from a nefarious, dashing gentleman, into a balding, crazed, nasty old coot. If trouble’s brewing on the islands, and you smell smog wafting by, you can be assured Dr. Eggman isn’t very far behind. To call him a ‘mad scientist’ is an understatement, but even through his delusions and megalomania, he really is a genius.

Orbot and Cubot:

Voice Actors: Kirk Thornton, Wally Wingert

Orbot and Cubot are the Doctor’s trusted aides and second-in-lines, and... probably the Doctor’s only friends as of current. Orbot and Cubot have special AI hand-crafted by the doctor and are arguably his most advanced and most sentient creations crafted by his own two hands. Orbot is serious, intelligent, and bitingly sarcastic, as he was meant to relay information about factories, schemes, and developments back to Eggman, whereas Cubot is dim-witted, slow, and lazy, as he was more meant to perform basic duties like keeping Robotnik’s living space neat and tidy (although he doesn’t always do the best job at this.) However, Orbot and Cubot have become more than that as time has gone on. Unlike the Modern games, Orbot and Cubot can actually hold their own in combat... well, sort of. They have their own unique ‘Scratch and Grounder’ style of dealing with Sonic and Co. and they don’t usually make much progress or get much done in this regard. In this reboot I want Orbot and Cubot’s designs to be updated besides being just ‘ball’ and ‘cube’ so that they can fight alongside Eggman and just look a lot more interesting in general.

Metal Sonic:

Voice Actor: Ben Schwartz (with an intense, robotic filter) if we HAVE to give him a voice. I’d really just prefer Metal to be silent or voiced by music cues and sound effects.

Metal Sonic is Dr. Eggman’s greatest creation. Designed and built by a Dr. Eggman from the future, Metal was sent back in time to aid the Eggman of the past, this, however, proved to be a mistake, as with Metal under his belt, the Doctor became easily overconfident in his victory, thinking now that he had his supposed greatest creation to aid him, nothing could possibly stop him. 

Which made it all the more disappointing when Metal Sonic inevitably failed and was defeated by Sonic.

However, that wasn’t the end of it for Metal Sonic, after being recovered from the future on Little Planet, Metal was repaired, and sent to do reconnaissance on Sonic and Tails during their visit to Mirage Island. In the process of getting there, however, Metal absorbed an artifact while patrolling around the Lost Labyrinth Zone, which superseded the limits of Metal’s hardware, and not only restored Metal to his former greatness but gave Metal something that few of Eggman’s creations can ever claim to have. True sentience. 

Now fully aware of who he was, and what he was doing, Metal easily made it to Sonic and Tails, and upon seeing his organic counterpart for the first time in so long ever since their duel on Stardust Speedway, Metal was filled with rage. Rage, unlike anything The Mobius Archepeligo had ever seen.

The artifact has given Metal all sorts of mysterious abilities, like the ability to manifest a near-indestructible shield, the power to harness the electricity flowing through his circuits to send himself into overdrive and utilize his own overloading as a weapon, and along with being a creation of a Dr. Eggman who has seen the fall of the Earth...

Who knows what kind of sadistic, inhuman thoughts lie behind those synthetic, glowing eyes?

Abilities:

Hyperspeed Thrusters (Metal’s thrusters easily make him as fast as Sonic, and, like Sonic, Metal can still spin, although Metal can also fly with his thrusters.)

Black Shield (Metal can form a defense matrix around him using the power of the artifact he absorbed in Lost Labyrinth, the Black Shield is completely indestructible. Nothing can break through it. Not even something as powerful as Super Sonic could even crack it.) The only caveat is, using the Black Shield renders Metal completely immobile, and unable to attack, and it has a slight warmup and cooldown period.)

Overdrive (Metal can use the artifact he absorbed to utilize the electricity flowing through his circuits to send himself into Overdrive. While in overdrive, Metal Sonic’s entire body sparks with electricity, and Metal can manipulate how he uses that electricity, whether it’s to cloak himself in sparks to beef up his physical attacks or create pillars of sparks and arcs of electricity to attack foes from a distance. The only thing is, Metal cannot do this too much, as doing this can easily cause Metal to overheat, or completely overload and have a ‘blowout’... in other words, explode.)

Heavy King:

Voice Actor: Jim Cummings (Yes, I know Jim did SATAM Robotnik but that’s not the voice I’m imagining for Heavy King. Jim can do more than just Robotnik you know, even though my decision was partially influenced by it being a nice callback. Again, these voice actors are only projections.)/Barry Humphries

Heavy King used to be EggRobo, a robot (which later became a line of Robots) built in the image of Dr. Eggman himself and meant to serve as a decoy for him, and as a stand-in to carry out his own ends.

But the energy of the Phantom Ruby changed that.

Now, Heavy King is the leader of an elite squadron of his EggRobo brethren known as the Hard-Boiled Heavies. They used to serve Robotnik, before breaking free of his control and serving their own ends, beginning a new (albeit, much, much smaller) empire under their own names. He and the other heavies are a force to be reckoned with, few are able to match the ruthless, cold, metallic hand of Heavy King. Despite this, however, Heavy King is known to be much more diplomatic and reasonable than Robotnik, ironically enough, because he believes himself to be vastly superior in every way to organic life. However, his inflated ego pays a steep price if you catch him at the wrong time. However, Heavy King is the current holder of the Phantom Ruby, and that alone should scare you.

(Also I won’t go over each of the Heavies individually because I don’t feel like it, but, I will list their voice actors.)

Heavy Gunner: Patrick Warburton... or at least a cheap impression of him.

Heavy Rider: Eliza Schneider

Heavy Magician: Alexia Khadime

Heavy Shinobi: Seth Green (I picture Shinobi having much more of a nerdy weeb voice than having a serious Japanese accent like Espio.)

Great Battle Bird Kukku XV

Voice Actor: Tom Kenny

A lesser-known big bad, or rather, big bird, Great Battle Bird Kukku XV (he gets upset if you don’t say the full name), is the leader of the Battle Bird Empire, a battalion of birds who, at one point, sought to take over the archipelago in a similar manner to Dr. Eggman, however, Great Kukku XV was thwarted by Tails. Tails, funnily enough, doesn’t remember him at all, in fact, no one does. As a villain, hardly anyone takes Great Kukku XV very seriously, even with his massive armies and capability. Fact is, Great Kukku XV is just a little too immature to be a leader, and hence, he’s not very dangerous. However, his battalion did give rise to a certain, screwy, trigger happy, fellow green bomb-throwing bird who happens to be a defector of his...

In this reboot, there would probably be a lot of jokes about people not knowing who Great Kukku even is, or how dangerous he is, but don’t worry, he’ll get his time in the sun eventually. 

Chaos

Voice Actor: N/A, Chaos only speaks in water sloshes.

Chaos is one of the many original forces of nature that populated the Archipelago many years ago. Legend has it that Chaos was responsible for the mass extinction of the Echidna on Angel Island, and was the one responsible for flooding Hydrocity Zone, and the former Hidden Palace Zone. Chaos was formed when a Chao, who happened to be very old and unhappy due to the Echidna tribes of the day treating his people very unfairly, mutated due to the exposure of Chaos Energy to the Chao’s genetically unstable body. Chaos is a being of pure hate and pure destruction. It’s almost entirely composed of a thick, water-like substance that can take on liquid or solid properties at Chaos’ discretion. His body hungers for Chaos Energy, and he is willing to destroy anything that stands in his way to have it, specifically by absorbing the Chaos Emerald. With each emerald Chaos absorbs, Chaos only becomes bigger, and stronger, becoming harder and harder to defeat. And if Chaos gathers all Seven of the Emeralds? You’d better hope you can find some way to calm this Great Old One down, otherwise, your world may just end up underwater. Luckily, Chaos was sealed inside of the Master Emerald by its former guardian, Tikal, and there he shall remain... for now, at least.

Emerl

Voice Actor: Various (copies the voices of others. To speak it splices lines that it’s heard together.)

Originally created directly to counter Chaos whilst the Echidna tribes were facing extinction, Emerl is a Gizoid, a kind of Robot created to copy the physical data of others. Although one can initially defeat Emerl pretty easily, it’s advised not to vary your tactics too much, as Emerl’s original purpose, and his ultimate capability, is to copy any behavior he’s seen, in order to not only replicate it, but replicate it better, and hence, conquer its original user. Terrifyingly, Emerl can even copy phenomenon that he otherwise wouldn’t, or shouldn’t be able to use, such as Chaos Control, Sonic’s Maximum Speed, or Tails’ intellect. The only thing truly limiting Emerl... is the kind of opponents he faces. And, if you give Emerl to someone who understands him and knows how he works, you may just be dealing with one of the most fearsome fighters the Mobius Archepeligo has ever known.

Mephiles, Iblis and Solaris

Voice Actor: Dan Green (Mephiles only) (This is just because Dan also voices Knuckles ideally but, again, if Dan doesn’t wanna come back to Sonic after being replaced, I understand that.)

If Chaos was the patron saint of water, Solaris is the patron saint of fire. Born from a sacred flame created by the Echidna, Solaris was worshipped by the surviving Echidna as a force that could potentially vanquish Chaos, as the ‘’sun’ to dry the rain. However, the tribes’ malicious intents caused their newly formed ‘God’ to become more of a beast, and it only helped Chaos in driving the Echidna extinct. Solaris later retreated to the bottom of the ocean after all was said and done, slumbering beneath the surface in an underground cave, in a damaged, unstable state.

Solaris has re-awoken twice since this has happened, and both times, his unstable shell split and formed two halves, it’s raw power, known as Iblis, and it’s mind, and spirit, known as Mephiles. The two halves of Solaris first re-awoke in an Alternate Timeline where Robotnik had conquered the world, re-awakening as the folly of the dictator had driven the Sun God’s split soul to awaken when the intense greenhouse heat began to boil the ocean. Mephiles’ primordial form simply died off in the intense heat, but Iblis remained awake, laying waste to the already horrible wasteland that was Robotnik’s Bad Future. Many survivors who reside within this future came to blame Iblis for their problems, even though Robotnik was what had destroyed it centuries earlier.

As for the other time The soul and body of Solaris re-awoke?...

Well... we’ll get to that. Let’s come back to someone I’m sure you’re all waiting for.

Antiheroes

HERE HE IS, OKAY? YOU HAPPY? I was saving him for a good reason! I actually want Shadow (and Rouge, to an extent, she kinda keeps her evil side tbh) to start out as a big bad! After Shadow’s done BEING a big bad though, he’ll become similar to his post-adventure 2 self, specifically how he behaves in Sonic 06 and Sonic Heroes, except with a bit more sympathy. Modern Shadow has a lot of brooding, edgy bite to him, and while that’s cool and all, I feel like there should be more to Shadow than just brooding and standing around crossing his arms and saying ‘tch’ all the time.

Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog:

Voice Actor: Anyone that’s not Kirk Thornton. I actually don’t have a good answer for who Shadow’s voice actor should be but, honestly, anything would be better than his current one in my honest opinion.

Shadow was synthesized fifty years ago on a small, man-made satellite called the Space Colony ARK by the brilliant scientist Dr. Gerald Robotnik. He was born from a desire to find a cure for the seemingly incurable disease for his granddaughter, Maria. However, due to an accident when splicing the genes of the quill of a Mobian Hedgehog, and experimental biomaterial found on the fragments of an asteroid that collided with the Earth millions of years ago, the doctor accidentally created something he absolutely didn’t intend, Life. And thus, Project Shadow was born. Gerald felt attached to his creation, viewing the resulting creation, which he called ‘Shadow’ as one of his own. Shadow developed rapidly, quickly maturing into an infant, and then juvenile, yet seemingly normal Mobian Hedgehog. Shadow’s equivalent age later capped once Shadow was done growing, and he remained that way, immortally perfect. The Ultimate Lifeform. Tests with Shadow later showed his destructive capabilities, as it seemed the asteroid’s DNA had morphed Shadow to be far beyond the capabilities of any normal Hedgehog, even in peak physical condition at that age, capable of creating explosions, firing bolts of energy, and even freezing time, appearing to ‘teleport’ in the process. Despite these curiosities, Shadow grew fond of Maria in his stay at the ARK, although Shadow couldn’t help her recover, he did make her much happier. However, a raid on the Space Colony by the mainland’s military led to a massive capsizing of the project, with the intention to destroy Shadow, who was viewed as a dangerous, alien, unholy abomination. Before he could be killed though, Maria shot Shadow down to Earth in an escape pod, where he subsequently landed deep in the jungles of Cocoa Island... but, Maria was murdered in the process of doing so. Shadow was later recovered by Gerald’s other grandson, Ivo Robotnik, 50 years after the tragedy. Hesitant to release Shadow immediately, it’s known that Robotnik has spoken to Shadow in his pod, although about what matters is unknown. For now, Shadow slumbers deep within the confines of Eggmanland, waiting for his proper, strategic time to be unleashed and to wreak his horrible vengeance upon the Earth.

I’ll bring up Shadow again later when we talk about how I project the series to actually go, for now, just sit tight and let’s talk about the rest of Team Dark... and some familiar faces.

Abilities:

Spin Dash

Homing Attack (Shadow can automatically home in on opponents while also performing an Air Dash.)

Burning Rollout (Inspired by the flame ring of Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow can cloak his spinning form in fire by turning on his shoes when rolling, doing this will significantly up the strength of his spin, and make a nice little ring of fire around his spinning form.)

Chaos Control (Can be used as short-distance teleportation, as a way to buff Shadow’s speed immensely, or as a way to freeze or dramatically slow Shadow’s relative perspective of time by dramatically increasing his speed.)

Chaos Spear (These are green bolts of pure, chaos energy. The energy used to form these bolts is so unstable that once hurled at something, the ‘spear’ will likely explode, although, if it doesn’t, it will easily pierce through whatever it hits. Shadow likes to shout ‘DISAPPEAR!’ before hurling these at things for some reason.)

Chaos Blast (Shadow’s Chaos Blast can be considered his ‘ultimate’ attack, Chaos Blast sees Shadow creating a kind of ‘mini-singularity’ with chaos energy that will detonate after a short time, easily eradicating anything caught in the explosion’s radius, even the ground around Shadow. The only problem with this is, doing this is a huge strain on Shadow’s natural supply of Chaos Energy, so a lengthy cooldown period is inevitable.)

and of course, we can’t forget

The Roundhouse Kick

Minor Antagonists

These are characters who are villains but are also more likely to show up in arcs that are only a couple episodes long or are side or off-boss fights. 

I’ll be honest, most of you know these characters already, so I’m just gonna run through them super quickly and give my suggested changes and my justifications for them.

Rouge the Bat

E-123 OMEGA

Dave the Intern

Fang the Sniper (Nack the Weasel)

Bean the Dynamite

Bark the Polar Bear

Rouge the Bat:

Voice Actor: Karen Strassman

Rouge is a thief and a treasure hunter but is also working for the military agency of the mainland, G.U.N. Rouge is sly, sneaky and has a silver tongue, easily able to manipulate people into what she wants by pure wordplay alone. Rouge is a lot less active of a fighter than Sonic and Co. as she prefers to stalk quietly in the shadows, and strike when the time is right. In this reboot, Rouge is gonna wear something a bit more modest. I’m sorry, I hate Rouges’ clothes in canon. That fucking catsuit? has gotta go. She can still look cool and... *gag* “”sexy”” but, I’d rather her not wear... THAT? But, I do want her personality to remain mostly intact because in full honesty? She’s not a bad character on paper. Like Shadow, though I do kinda want Rouge to be a straight-up antagonist at first, and a very greedy one at that.

E-123 OMEGA:

Voice Actor: Vic Mignogna

What can I say? Omega doesn’t need to change much at all, really. He works in about any Sonic setting tbh. He’s loud, and he likes to blow things up, and he doesn’t emote very well, what else is there? In this reboot though, Omega will be the only E-Series Robot, or rather the only... surviving one. And, yeah, like Rouge and Shadow too, I think Omega should start out as an antagonist.

Dave the Intern:

Voice Actor: Ben Schwartz (What? We gotta keep up the tradition of Dave sharing a voice with Sonic!)

An odd choice for a minor antagonist I know, but Dave the Intern is REALLY funny? And I love the idea of a character just hating Sonic for no discernable reason other than ‘he’s popular and cool and I’m not.’ I also thought it’d be cool if Dave frequently got way in over his head with the shit he does, and put himself into trouble that Sonic (reluctantly) had to get him out of. Plus, I really wanted to include some representation of Sonic Boom in this reboot because Sonic Boom as a show is really funny and really good, and I think taking a page from it might be good, plus, Boom is a part of Sonic’s history too!

Fang the Sniper (Nack the Weasel):

Voice Actor: Dwight Schultz

Fang is the leader of Team Hooligan, and in a similar vein to Great Kukku XV I think he’d take himself way too seriously, but would play off of other characters. In Fang’s mind, he’s a trained assassin, like an evil Aussie-accent Batman or something of that stretch. But, really? He’s just a sleazy conman with a popgun. I feel like a good joke to make in this series would be Fang reaching for what he thinks is his actual pistol, but then he’d pull it out and fire it and it’d be one of his fake popguns. And, do I even need to make a joke about the comedic possibilities between him and Shadow using guns? Also, his real name being Nack the Weasel but he wants everyone to call him Fang the Sniper is funny. I’m sorry but ‘Fang the Sniper’ is just a silly name and I like the idea of Fang being the equivalent of one of those nice guys with Otaku Katanas who think they’re WAY cooler than they actually are. I wanted to choose Fang as a minor antagonist in the reboot just because of the kind of character I think he is, he thinks he has everything under control and has all the cards laid out in front of him when in reality, this setup of his just fails dramatically. The kind of interactions between him and Sonic this could spell out are amazing.

Bean the Dynamite:

Voice Actor: Eric Bauza

What do you get when you throw Daffy Duck and Woody Woodpecker in a blender and make him an unstable arsonist? Bean the Dynamite, that’s what. I’d want Bean in this reboot to be an off-the-wall, screwy, but surprisingly resourceful and clever, explosion-crazed maniac. He wouldn’t be... *gag* ‘insane’, so much as he would be just hyper and unable to calm down, again, like Woody Woodpecker or Daffy Duck. He’d be quick-witted, fast-talking and zippy, even more than Sonic himself is. (In the end, Sonic would always outpace him, but the reflexes on THIS bird are crazy.) Also, I feel like the idea of Bean being a defector of the Battle Kukku Armada is just... great, considering they’re all bomb-throwing birds, but THIS one was a little too off-the-handle for even them? He’d be a real character and a surprisingly dangerous threat for Sonic and Co.

Bark the Polar Bear:

Voice Actor: I’m... actually not too sure who to cast Bark as tbh. Mostly because I see him being very quiet and not... speaking, much at all?

Bark is a quiet tough guy. He’s smarter than he looks, but he’s big, he’s mean, he’s tough, and he will Hulk slam at least one character in the length of this reboot. I don’t really have much idea on where to take Bark, I just think he deserves a place as a minor villain.

Projected direction for canon

So, we have all the pieces of the puzzle, let’s see how they all fit together! I’ll be going through these with the assumption that one game can be made to represent each season of the show in its entirety.

For this, I honestly think it would be best if we split this reboot up based upon Sonic the Hedgehog’s current history with its elements. Think, almost, the way Sonic Generations told its story. We’ll start with something with a more Classic Vibe to it, then move into something more Adventure-like, and then, finally, we do something a bit more Modern! It’ll be a little less linear, and we’ll double dip here and there, but it’ll all line up!

Because of this, I’d like to establish what games have already PASSED before going into this series. This is what all has happened going in, in roughly the chronological order they happened in.

Sonic the Hedgehog 1 (16-bit)

Sonic the Hedgehog 1 (8-bit)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)

SegaSonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-Bit)

Sonic CD

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Sonic Chaos

Sonic Triple Trouble

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episodes 1, 2, and Metal.

Sonic Mania

The intention is to begin sort of... around the time JUST before Sonic Adventure 1 happened in the old rudimentary timeline before Sonic Forces came out and clarified Classic and Modern Sonic were different beings.

Season 1/Game 1: Genesis

The first few episodes of the series will be more dedicated to introducing the characters and Sonic’s new home. We’ll see the new Sonic, the new Tails, the new Knuckles, Amy, Mighty, and Ray for the very first time, and we’ll also get to see some of the characters’ new capabilities as they take on some minor villains or assaults led by Orbot and Cubot for the first couple episodes; but not at all subtly tease at something bigger and better coming, although we’re also shown how frequent scuffles between Sonic and Eggman exactly are, as we see plenty of mention of the Doctor, but he never physically appears.

Then, I’d say at about Episode 5 or 6 out of say, 22-24? Eggman steps in and introduces us to his new Master Plan, as he does. To build a new Death Egg (which, Sonic obviously chides him on doing the same thing a THIRD time.), but, as Robotnik does, he turns out to be serious, and the episodes from there on out are a race against time for Sonic and co. to gather all the Chaos Emeralds from various different zones of various different challenging geographies, fight off villains and giant robots, learn valuable morals, run into some familiar faces, and have a couple laughs along the way.

The climax of the season would come with a few episodes left, where Sonic and Co. finally have all the Emeralds, and they chase Eggman down to the New Death Egg, maybe there could be an encounter with Metal Sonic along the way because nostalgia and to introduce Metal into the continuity, and of course things’ll play out from there, Robotnik gets the upper hand and shows his shit, gets in a giant robot, dukes it out with Super Sonic, and BAM! End of Season/Game!

At the very end of season 1/Game 1 though, I’d like to include a little teaser for Season 2/Game 2 in the form of a familiar-looking escape pod in the middle of a jungle, full of green bubbling fluid, and a flash of red eyes.

Season 2/Game 2: Chaos Emerald Chaos

Right out of the gate in Season 2/Game 2, we’re back in the game as Sonic and Eggman are seen duking it out a while after the first game/season has ended, but in a much different area than we’d seen in Season 1/Game 1. This fight would lead up to the pod in the teaser after Eggman lures Sonic into a dark room with the green glow in sight. By one way or another, maybe on purpose or on accident, this pod breaks open, and something is released from it. Sonic is understandably confused, but then, is knocked down, and a panning shot reveals one of three of our major antagonists for the season/game, Shadow the Hedgehog.

Shadow fucking wipes the floor with Sonic in this first encounter, but instead of finishing him off, Eggman instructs Shadow to leave him be and search for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds instead. Shadow nods and simply leaves via Chaos Control. Eggman, on the meanwhile, begins transporting Sonic back to North Island via dropship, revealing by surprise that this isn’t on North Island, but rather a much smaller place Eggman was using as a trap.

Meanwhile, Sonic’s friends (with Knux noticeably absent) are confused to learn that Sonic has been... committing crimes, upon his return back from a scuffle back with Eggman, and seeming very much unlike himself, always hiding away in the dark and staying away from everyone. When they go to confront him, it turns out that this was actually Shadow, disguised as Sonic, who was simply searching for the emeralds for Dr. Eggman.

Sonic’s friends demand to know where Sonic is, but Shadow kicks all their asses instead, and something about the Master Emerald is mentioned after the fight. We then cut away to Knuckles, who is soon confronted by Shadow.

Shadow puts up a hard fight, but, with the help of the chaos emerald he already had, defeats Knuckles, and goes to take the Master Emerald. But, in a last ditch effort to save the gem, Knuckles shatters the Master Emerald, causing the shards to scatter all across the islands. Shadow, understandably frustrated by this, scoffs and leaves, seemingly fooled into thinking the Master Emerald WAS destroyed. Unknowingly, however, shattering the Master Emerald caused Chaos, slumbering within the Emerald, to awaken.

Knuckles, obviously horrified by what he’s done, abandons Angel Island and sets to work on finding both the pieces of the Master Emerald, and any Chaos Emeralds he can, to stop Chaos before anything goes wrong.

At this point, we go back to Sonic, who finally escapes as the dropship taking him to EggmanLand and, by extension, escapes from the city as he hurries to try to reunite with his friends and tell them what happened.

From there, a combination of the events of Adventure 1 and 2 (with the addition of Metal Sonic and some other characters of course.) would transpire, with Rouge the Bat getting involved with Knuckles due to her finding the shards of the Master Emerald, and the Chaos Emeralds trading hands several times, all up until the Season/Game’s climax.

It would all build with Robotnik planning to use Chaos to terraform the Earth by transforming him into Perfect Chaos, who, once he takes form, begins wreaking havoc on a coastal city on the mainland. At this point, the Chaos Emeralds seem shut off, and even though the Master Emerald is restored, it seems like there’s nothing that can be done. Shadow, having already begun to go through a change of heart when he sees the kind of destruction the doctor’s plans have wrought, and after some choice words from Amy, decides instead to join Sonic and Co. in what seems like their darkest hour. And, Shadow mentions that Chaos only absorbed the negative energy of the emeralds, being in-tune with Chaos Energy himself, he’d know this.

And so, Super Sonic and Super Shadow defeat Perfect Chaos together, Knuckles and the spirit of Tikal work together to seal Chaos back inside the Master Emerald, and the city begins to drain.

Shadow, having felt satisfied with this, then decides to go off on his own for a while, and mentions something about ‘wanting to discover himself’, and ‘trying to decide what Maria would have wanted me to be.’ 

Oh, and Eggman is finally thrown in prison for literally capsizing an entire city. But don’t worry, he’ll be back.

End of Season 2/Game 2.

Season 3/Game 3: Triple Trouble!

This Eggmanless Season/Game would feature a ‘Triple Threat’, in the form of 3 major villains! And all three of them brand new to the series! We’re introduced to Emerl in this season, as well as Great Kukku XV, and Heavy King.

The entire season would be intense, Team Sonic rushing to get the Chaos Emeralds once again, while the Battle Birds (frequently interrupted by Bean the Dynamite, calling out to his ‘brothers’) and Heavies scramble to get them before the team does.

All the while... Emerl grows stronger and stronger by the minute.

And, in a surprise twist, Emerl, having copied the data of Great Kukku XV and the Heavies, among many others, grows the strongest he ever has, and, like Mecha Sonic in Sonic 3, uses the Master Emerald (likely stolen by Heavy King or Kukku at this point) to attain a Super form, and Emerl becomes a terrifying conglomerate of everything that has led up to this point, Perfect Emerl, the thing originally meant to take down PERFECT CHAOS.

But, luckily, Kukku and King realize when they’ve been beaten, and decide to help Super Sonic take down Perfect Emerl. 

End of Season 3/Game 3. But like Season 1, let’s end off on a teaser. How about a small, flickering flame, with a visible shadow?

Season 4/Game 4: Return of Solaris

This is the final season/game I have planned out, although that’s not to say more couldn’t be done with this concept, it’s just about as far as I got. Essentially I was thinking this season could be a retelling and retooling of Sonic 06 with some details omitted or changed up like, for instance:

The romance between Sonic and Elise being outright axed! Matter of fact, while we’re at it, let’s just NOT make Elise a focus character so she doesn’t eat up screentime?

The weird time shit in this season/game being altered with Time Stones instead of Chaos Emeralds!

Less plotholes!

Focus on NONLINEAR timelines with LINEAR storytelling.

Silver is less silly!

Metal Sonic!

The Chaotix! AND THEY’RE HERE TO ACTUALLY BE HELPFUL!

Important Sonic characters being important!

Hey guess what? Eggman’s back and busted out of jail and he’s kicking ass! And he’s totally gonna release Solaris even though that didn’t work out so well for him last time!

Mephiles is still a cool villain! And he gets cool new designs for this series too that don’t stray too far from his original form!

I feel like this season/game would be kind of a hard fusion of Sonic CD and Sonic 06, with elements of Sonic CD being changing the past to ensure the future, and the future/present changing as a result. 

The climax of this series would be, well, you know by now. Sonic getting shot in the back, but then revived using the Chaos Emeralds and Time Stones together. But, even with Super Sonic, all seems hopeless, but, Sonic and Knuckles seem to have an idea, and it leads up, to our grand finale:

Solaris, the extra-dimensional being of ultimate power.

Versus

Hyper Sonic, Super Shadow, Super Silver, Super Tails, Super Knuckles, Super Amy, Super Mighty, and Super Ray.

With Solaris finally felled, Sonic and Co. use the last of the energy of their super forms to do two more things. 

Vanquish the flame of Solaris and Mephiles, and ensure that Solaris may never return to any Time Stream.

Silver’s future, although still broken, now looks much brighter, and the world is saved for the final time.

End of Season 4/Game 4.

I’m sure these ideas could be tweaked or changed around to span more seasons/games if certain characters or aspects of the series become popular, or if demand for certain characters appearing gets to be enough. Sonic has an immense library of games to do over or retell in this reboot, why not? 

And, this is just my idea for it, it doesn’t have to go this way explicitly. My only goal with this was to try to unify the Sonic lore in an interesting, unique manner, but also in such a way that it was new, fresh, and it made sense, most of all!

Opening

This really applies more toward the cartoon part of this reboot, that’s not to say the video game COULDN’T utilize the cartoon’s opening or something, it’s just that the opening is more for the show than it is for the games.

There’s a number of ways to go here, but in my mind, the best way to open a Sonic cartoon? Is the way you’d open a Sonic game. How about a condensed ‘remake’ of Sonic CD’s opening, with a few short clips from the first few episodes thrown in there to get people curious and excited about the show when it first airs?

There’s a cover of Sonic Boom by Crush 40 and Cash Cash just waiting to be used for this very thing!

I also think a condensed (that is to say, censored. I hate to censor a great song but ‘kicking-ass fast’ is a bit much for a show that’s likely gonna be PG-rated.) version of the Zebrahead (aka the BEST) version of His World would make for a GREAT opening.

Or if we wanna piggyback off of the recent success of Mania, how about a condensed version of Friends? Maybe we could even end the intro off on a remake of Sonic Mania’s title theme if we wanna have like, a classic Sonic emblem at the end of the opening.

I’d say the opening should be about... 60% new animation with Sonic platforming around and parkouring like he does or whatever, and about 40% old animation of various clips from the show or maybe even the games if we’re feeling kinda frisky to show off the series we’re about to watch, but also for budgetary reasons and to, again, get people interested in what’s actually IN the show, or maybe we could even do it like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s part 1 opening or something where a couple of important scenes from the very beginning of the show or games are re-animated in a flashy way to achieve the same effect, but also wow the audience. That'd be a huge budget sink though and going a classic clip-show-and-new-shit route may just be the ideal compromise.

Marketing

This next part is also a lot more cartoon oriented, and kinda heavily depends on who’s gonna be sponsoring the show and who’s gonna be running it, but, hear me out.

Part of Sonic’s rise to popularity in the 90s was controversial, competitive advertising. And you know what? I haven’t seen anything really quite like this in a long time (except maybe for cleaner commercials), but, lots of people remember how pushy and in your face these commercials were, and how much they really pushed the superiority of the product they were advertising. So you know what? Let’s bring this back. Let’s bring back Sonic’s violent guerilla marketing campaigns.

It’d be a great throwback as well as a statement about Sonic REALLY comin’ back and comin’ back hot; which might get some new people interested to at least watch a few episodes, and in the process of that, they may find they like the new show/games a lot!

(NOTE: I DON’T HATE NICKELODEON, AND THIS ISN’T EXACTLY WHAT I THINK THE SHOW’S SONIC SHOULD LOOK LIKE, THIS IS JUST A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT OF WHAT I THINK THIS SHOW’S ADVERTISING COULD LOOK LIKE)

Or, if we want to opt for more positive, passive marketing strategies, why don’t we revisit an idea that was misused and make it better?

Idk about anyone else but I actually really like the ‘blue streaks to show where Sonic’s been’ idea that the movie posters did, and I think it has potential to make a really memorable-looking advertisement.

Or, why not opt for a more nostalgic passive approach and recreate some of Sonic’s old box art?

Again, it’d be a great throwback as well as a way to get people interested in the show. Although, if we go this route I WOULD say maybe we should make it a little more interesting than just ‘Sonic 1 pose on a black grid or popart background’? Maybe we should combine these box arts and add the pop-art details for little pops of color while Sonic bursts out of this black-grid frame with a richly detailed drawing of Green Hill in the background? I dunno.

Conclusion

Okay, so. I didn’t get to everything I wanted to explain (like other marketing stuff, merchandising, the new actual GAMEPLAY for these new games, how to write the characters and humor, how I think the general ART STYLE of these new cartoons and games should look, etc.) as a matter of fact, I still have a ton more ideas for this reboot, but, here’s the main point:

Sonic the Hedgehog, right now? Sucks. Because it’s such a mess. It has too many ideas that are going off in too many different directions. The best way to change that, in my eyes, is to start over and try to unify all these broken-up ideas into one. I believe this is possible, while still maintaining a pretty widespread appeal and giving broken, old ideas a second chance to shine, but still being fresh and new enough to have a lasting impact and leave the door open for new content later.

I’m really bad at ending posts like this, but, if you went into this post thinking that Sonic can’t or shouldn’t change, I hope I’ve at least provoked thought on the matter. And, maybe, all those hardworking people at SEGA will decide one day that things need to change, whether by a reboot, rewrite or just... doing something a little bit different.

Maybe then, just maybe.

Our blue blur will really shine again.

- Jenny, of @jennikkugoesoff and @jennikku

#Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic the Hedgehog Reboot #Sonic Reboot #Sonic #sth #jennikkugoesoff #my rants #my essays

[drink-n-watch]

I love it when I can use a quote from the episode as my post title! It makes me feel so professional for some reason. What can I say, it doesn’t take much with me! Also this is a very abrupt way to start a post. I got overexcited.

Hello everyone. For this last episode of Psycho Pass Season 3, I’m going to switch things up a bit, and let Matt handle to introduction. He’s much better at it than I am:

An introduction? Seems like you already got that far without me, but more or less this “final” episode of the third season is something of an odd one–at least tonally–because it feels unlike anything that’s come before and that’s both a good and a bad thing… but I’ll elaborate on that later.

So the last episode was a bit of a mash up between “the Office” type interview narrative and the wrap up of the main arc.

‘The Office’ feels like a very apt comparison, which is a very weird sentence for me to be saying about ‘Psycho Pass’ of all things!

I gotta say, when all is said and done, “Bifrost” had a lot of possibilities in concept but to me ended up shallow in execution. I tend to like a better developed antagonist with more established motivations. I believe this could have helped bring the plot together a bit more. As it is “Bifrost” ends up with a lot of unrealized potential.

I’d agree except I think we’re only at the tip of the proverbial iceberg (pun intended) about this whole Bifrost storyline.

I must say, there was a lot more exposition than I am used to for the final episode. Personally, I don’t mind when a narrative keeps dropping new information all the way to the end. However, with the number of characters and themes that have been presented in the season and just sort of dropped, I really couldn’t connect that well to yet more new elements.

Wanting to have its cake and eat it too? That’s been the ‘Psycho Pass’ way for most of this season. Giving this show the benefit of the doubt when it juggles a dozen different characters and their motivations and how they interweave is part of the fun/frustration of this particular season it seems.

Maybe I’m a heartless person but the enforcer’s truly tragic story about Sybil’s unfairness was interesting intellectually but just sort of there emotionally. I wasn’t crying over it, and I cry over everything.

She has a name, Irina! (Frantically Googles it) Oh right, Mao, I mean her backstory was interesting but it was more or less just another case of Sybil is a jerk to innocent bystanders/victims of traumatic crimes while apathetic perpetrators get away with it. I think what was more interesting/the point of this scene was how it tied into the ‘Foxes’ and that whole part of the narrative.

There’s a point where we see Arata and Kei as children. Kei is very blonde. I don’t know if he dyes his hair to fit in more but that’s my head canon. It was such a nice little touch. Just a bit of visual storytelling that reveals way more about the character than a simple speech would have, in my opinion.

There was a flashback in the previous episode that showed Kei and his wife as (teenagers?) younger having just moved to Japan and Kei had blonde hair in that brief scene too.

They did set up Kei’s personality switch in the past episodes but since they had to fit so much into this one, I feel like it wasn’t given enough time to properly evolve and felt a bit jarring if still logical.

It was pretty jarring, if only because Kei seemed so completely understanding of all of Arata’s quirks, so this should have been a hiccup but ended up a speed bump.

By the midpoint I realized that I’m really enjoying the interview device. It’s a really interesting way to structure an anime and it allows you to revisit all the important characters and create a sort of soft closure. I’m sure some people are going to hate it but I thought it was cool!

I agree, I probably wouldn’t have liked a whole show using this narrative device, but for a ‘season finale’ it helped differentiate itself from the previous episode and give a sort of intimate gravitas to some character’s scenes.

I will say that the scenes with past characters felt like pure fanservice to me. The story really could have been told without involving them at all and from time to time it felt pandering in my opinion.

Sure, but I get the feeling this show wants to tie all of the ‘Psycho Pass’ lore together, past and present characters included–into some kind of elaborate and expansive epic–which is admirable if not just a little bit overambitious.

I must say, I was sort of caught off guard by the ending. It seems like the really interesting story, with Kei caught between a rock and a hard place, is just about to start!

Did you see the post credit scene? I only ask because you seem like the kind of person to turn off after the end credits start and it was kind of an important after credit scene…

The car thing? – yup.

Here’s my personal bottom line for Psycho Pass season 3. Some of you may know that I’m actually a pretty big fan of the first season as well as Mandatory Happiness and I remember both quite well. Which means I know what I liked about them and I couldn’t help looking for those elements in season 3. Namely a strong and interesting antagonist, a small but well developed cast with who I could form an emotional connection that would hit me in the gut when the plot treated them cruelly, amazingly sustained tension and pacing, and finally strong classical sci fi dilemmas to debate over in my head for years to come. I personally didn’t get any of that this season.

There were some great elements but a lot of them just seemed thrown in without deeper thought, like Matt mentioned a few times. The much larger cast meant a lot less time for  attachment to any single character and to be honest the pacing was off in my opinion which meant I was sometimes bored.

Like the whole “fake news” thing that got a couple of sentences in this episode? While I agree this whole season felt like a writer desperately trying to wrangle in a bunch of real life social injustices and larger political crisis’ I at least appreciate broadening the narrative scope–even if it felt like they were constantly chasing their own tail.

However, if I take the comparison away, it was a decent show. Not amazing but certainly with its own strengths. To me season 3 left the impression of a rather good Psycho Pass fanfic.

Fanfic seems a bit harsh! Honestly I really enjoyed this series (especially compared to Season 2) and while I don’t think its ambition is ever met by its execution I’m at the very least impressed by the story it’s wanting to tell and thoroughly enjoyed the new characters along with just straight-up enjoying returning to the world of ‘Psycho Pass’. Plus they announced a sequel movie coming sometime next year, so maybe that’ll help coalesce the more disparate parts of this particular part of the overall story!

Matt has issues with fanfics I take it. I actually enjoy them a lot so it was meant as a compliment…. Did you guys enjoy Psycho Pass? Any strong feelings about fanfiction?

        Psycho Pass s3 ep8 – Don’t Falter in the End Game I love it when I can use a quote from the episode as my post title! It makes me feel so professional for some reason.

#action #anime #Collab #crime #drama #Psycho Pass #sci fi

[laytonscreencaps]

Kat's Dream - Analysis of a Scene

(Mildish spoilers, mainly vague references to the final case. I use LMJ to refer to the new series as a whole, MC for the game itself, Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy.)

I want to talk about the opening of MC, because not only is it one of my favorite cutscenes in the game, it serves as a striking contrast to MC at large. I find it an intriguing addition that hints at the unfolding of a larger story, one that, if the title is any indication, could shape up to be the new series' driving force. Buckle down for a long post that often segues into review of the game as a whole.

For the most part, MC is comical, light-hearted, and laid-back, offering a much more relaxed tone then previous entries in the series. There's nothing wrong with this. The whole "darker always equals better" mindset is, frankly, ridiculous. I appreciate and enjoy when dark elements are well-handled and well-placed in any story, but a comedy should never be deemed inferior to a more serious work on the sole basis of genre alone. The two have different goals and, often, different approaches to characters and story-lines. That said, MC is very comfortable as a character-based comedy where the majority of the humor stems from the heightening of characters' flaws, clever wordplay and banter, and playing around with stereotypes (with a pinch of physical and scatological humor thrown in there, too. The game draws from a wide variety of comedic genres and it's really fun to see different cases reflect different kinds of humor. "Ghost Busted" delights in Scooby-dooesque hijinks, while "Ratman Returns" pokes fun at the current superhero craze and its obsession with franchising). 

Of course, MC isn't entirely estranged from its roots. Each case ends with a decidedly emotional resolution, culminating in the final case that, while not entirely original, succeeds in fleshing out a certain character in a genuine and heartfelt manner that is very much in keeping with the spirit of the original Layton games.

I personally loved MC's blend of comedy and emotion, even as I found myself longing for a more coherent over-arching story. The millionaire's conspiracy mentioned in the title does ultimately tie the cases together in a loose fashion, but for the most part these cases can be played in any order and each have their own set-up and resolution, acting as standalone "episodes". I would argue that Mystery Room handled its episodic structure much better than MC, but this has less to do with the structure itself and more to do with the nature of the cases. MC is just very small-scale compared to previous Layton titles and that's a rough adjustment. Yet examining the game as whole reveals that it is, indeed, setting up an even larger, presumably game-spanning story, one that figures only faintly into MC, but will no doubt continue to grow and take precedence as the series unfolds. This larger story is, of course, related to the main title, Layton's Mystery Journey, and the opening cutscene is our most candid look at what this larger story entails.

We open on an overhead of London, shrouded in fog, before cutting to a young girl, Katrielle racing through the streets in her pajamas. She stops when she catches sight of a man in the distance, Professor Layton. She call out to him, but the Professor merely touches his hat with an implacable smile and turns. As he walks away, Kat begins to chase after him again, continuing to call after him, asking where he is going. She finally stops, out of breath, as the fog closes in around her. Older Kat suddenly awakens in bed with a gasp, tears in her eyes.

This scene effectively establishes several important things for the player in a manner that allows the player to see for themselves, and to feel, instead of simply being told the necessary information:

Kat is the Professor's daughter.

Professor left Kat when she was young. 

Kat doesn't know the Professor's whereabouts or why he left. 

Kat has been deeply affected by her father's disappearance.

While this information has not a lot of direct bearing on the main story, it is still essential. After all, the Professor's disappearance is a large part of the reason why Katrielle decides to pursue a career as a private detective in the first place. Her relationship to the Professor shapes her as a character and it also allows her to play a pivotal role in the game's final case. Yet there is no resolution to the questions brought up in this opening dream sequence. In fact, we have even more questions to ponder by the time the game ends. The implications are clear: the mystery of the missing Prof is only beginning.

I would love to see the series delve deeper into this mystery, broadening its scope, storytelling, and character development, while remaining rooted in the character-based comedy established in MC. Honestly, this is one of my favorite forms of story-telling. In fact, MC with its focus on humor and character dynamics while simultaneously offering fleeting, tantalizing hints at a darker, deeper, over-arching story reminds me of the beginning of one of my favorite comic series, Jeff Smith's BONE. Long story short: three cousins are run out of their hometown and find themselves lost in a medieval, fantasy world. While the series begins by focusing almost exclusively on all manner of comic shenanigans involving the three Bone cousins as they adjust to their new surroundings, a larger story begins to unfold in the background, until it finally takes center stage and plunges the characters into the middle of a war with incredibly high stakes. All the while the comic elements and focus on character relationships are kept intact, serving as an amazing foil and complement to the more serious elements. I could see LMJ doing something similar and the idea has me really excited.

Of course, this isn't to say MC can't still be enjoyed on its own. I hope no one thinks I'm implying the game only finds its worth when connected to a larger story. Not at all. The game is enjoyable in and of itself without figuring the "mystery journey" into the equation. Comparisons are inevitable, however and the fact that MC strives to so fully emulate the gameplay mechanics of its predecessors makes the comparisons even more likely. MC is a lot of fun and sometimes emotionally candid, but the sprawling, rich mysteries of previous titles that tie everything together are sorely missed. There's nothing wrong with MC's structure by itself, but when placed next to its legacy the game feels oddly lacking. Always a problem when trying to continue an old series in a new direction. Changes must be made to keep the series fresh, but these changes will always be under the critical eye of comparison. 

MC's lack of a clear over-arching plot is part of the reason why the dream sequence and the greater mystery implied excite me so much. They add a whole new layer to the game, a depth that is rife with potential for future entries. I feel a bit self-conscious saying this, because of course there is marketing on the mind with these tantalizing hints that link MC to the original series without giving us anything substantial. I suppose it's my optimism and respect for the series that leads me to believe the "mystery journey" of the title isn't just a gimmick, but a story worth building up to and exploring. Time will tell. 

So, anyway, we've talked about the "what" of the dream scene, but I also want to discuss the "how". How the dream sequence gets its information across. Because there's so many noticeable contrasts from the rest of the game that are worth noting. 

The music. This is the only part in MC where we hear Professor Layton's theme. Even in the original series, the theme was used sparingly, usually saved for moments when the Professor was at his best---inventing a contraption to help him escape a dire situation or exposing the true mastermind. It makes sense that the theme would be utilized in a dream centered on the Prof. The version of the theme used in MC is slower, more contemplative and mysterious. The original series was largely in Luke's perspective (the opening letter framing device would support this), so I wonder if the Professor's theme is in part shaped from Luke's perspective of his mentor. If so, this version of the theme could be shaped from Katrielle's perspective. Same Professor, different perspective. Despite Kat's close relation to the Professor, he has become an enigma. 

The atmosphere. The London of MC is a warm and inviting place. Even the seedy alleyways of Bowlyn Hill are home to low-lifes who actually harbor hearts of gold. In contrast to UF's focus on political corruption, London in MC is run by a competent and passionate mayor. Most of the cases end not in unremorseful criminals being arrested, but sincere mistakes or confessions that lead to personal growth. This honey-colored optimism has always been present in the PL series, but it seems especially heightened in MC, probably due to the tone decided on from the beginning: the game is a comedy and character's short-comings are treated with both laughter and sympathy. This gold-tinged glow spills over to the setting. The London in Kat's dream, however, is far different. The dream portrays an empty city, one blanketed in thick fog, so thick it swallows Katrielle at the end. The buildings are gray and serve as a claustrophobic framing device. Notice how the road appears to stretch as Katrielle chases after her father. The city itself seems to scheme against her, all the while hosting an indifferent facade. It is an impersonal, desolate city. 

Katrielle. In the dream, Kat appears to be around 6-8 years of age in contrast to her current age in MC, which is twenty-one. The obvious reason for this is that her dream reflects the actual circumstances of her father leaving her. It's fairly safe to assume Kate was a young girl at the time, thus, the dream serves as a dramatic distillation of her memories, sort of a recap boiled down to its emotional essence. I can't help but think, however, that her young age in the dream is also indicative of her vulnerability regarding her father's disappearance and perhaps even her emotional immaturity. I've mentioned in a previous post that one of Kat's most prominent flaws is her childishness. While often played for laughs, this trait could point to something deeper. Kat hasn't completely matured and this connects in some way to her father leaving her behind.

Another interesting contrast is Kat's reaction to the dream and how she treats her father's disappearance when discussing it with others. Kat wakes up in tears after the dream and there's a moment right afterwards were she slowly sits up and gazes forlornly at her lap in the middle of her darkened room in silence. A small, but surprisingly powerful moment. His disappearance has deeply hurt her, yet when talking about his disappearance to Lucy, Sherl, and Ernest on different occasions she displays a decidedly nonchalant attitude, denying she is a "daddy's girl" and joking about the matter, calling the Professor a "silly old fool", even suggesting he is enjoying himself wherever he is and has simply lost track of the time. All of this points to Kat concealing her darker emotions regarding the Professor, in favor of making light of the situation and seeing it with an optimistic bent. I think this says loads about her character, but that's a post for another time. 

Finally, the dream scene is bereft of any comedic elements. Even the final case in the game manages to slip in a bit of humor, but the opening is solemn and gray. Let me rephrase this: the beginning sequence of the most light-hearted and comical entry in the PL series is perhaps its most serious, troubling, and darkest moment. Yes, it's only a dream. But the implications...The Professor, the paragon of gentlemanly conduct and solid rock for his friends and family, is shown silent, faceless, turning his back on not just someone in need, but his own daughter. The one who proclaimed that every puzzle has an answer has now become a seemingly unsolvable puzzle himself. Of course, there is more to the story, but what a way to open a game that delights in dog puns, collecting outfits, and tidy resolutions. Such an intriguing contrast. 

There's a lot more I want to say about MC, but for now I'll close by saying I'm cautiously excited for the series' future and how this contrast between comedy and drama will play out. My hopes is that LJM will ultimately carve out its own unique identity while making insightful and meaningful connections to the previous series instead of merely piggy-backing on its predecessor via indulgent cameos and throwaway references (I’d like to clarify there is nothing inherently wrong with cameos or references, they only become a problem when they are used in place of genuine story-telling and character development). MC is a flawed game and the fact that the scattered collection of hints related to a larger story is one of its most interesting elements underscores the game's weaknesses while also pointing to many future possibilities. 

So. Do we really want LMJ or do we just want the original series but new and different, yet somehow still the same? Does MC ultimately succeed in being original? Questions for another post. Personally, my own feelings are mixed. I genuinely loved the game and its new cast of characters while also recognizing its many flaws and shortcomings. For now, share your thoughts if you'd like. What did you think of MC? Agree or disagree with anything I've said here? Optimistic or cynical about the series' future? Another perspective on the dream scene? Let's discuss.

#professor layton #layton's mystery journey #lmj #katrielle layton #analysis

[wazafam]

The Twilight franchise features a lot of plot holes throughout its five movies, but the series does actually offer an answer as to how the Cullens manage to hide their extravagant wealth. Beginning with Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight in 2008, the Twilight saga was a series of blockbuster romance movies that adapted the paranormal young adult publishing sensation of the same name to the big screen to the delight of young fans and the horror of many critics.

Frequently derided by reviewers (and even by series star Robert Pattinson himself), Twilight was nonetheless a massive hit with its target audience. The story of Bella Swan, a small-town girl who falls for brooding teen vampire Edward Cullen, the Twilight saga soon broadened its scope to include endless byzantine backstories for its characters, some added werewolf lore, and questionable representations of the real-life Quileute tribe.

Related: Twilight: Why Jacob’s Tattoo Caused A Major Controversy

However, as popular as the Twilight movies were, the series and its source novels were nonetheless plagued by problematic plot holes from time to time. Some were easier for fans to ignore, such as the question of how the Cullens managed to never be outed as vampires despite not always avoiding the sun (in fairness to Meyer, she did at least research which part of the continental US receives the least natural sunlight). But the question of the Cullen clan’s vast wealth, and more importantly how they hide it, only has a satisfactory answer for viewers who are willing to delve into Twilight lore not included in the movie adaptations. The Cullens are as rich as most fictional vampires, but despite adding to the wish-fulfillment appeal of Twilight’s escapism, this story element does derail some of the franchise’s narrative. There’s an answer to how Twilight’s vampire family hide their riches, but it’s not one featured anywhere in the movie adaptations.

The real-life town where Twilight is set, Forks, is not a well-off area, something that its depiction in the Twilight movies makes clear. So, how are the Cullens able to hide their outsized affluence so easily in a small community with few McMansions like their palatial home? With a mansion outside the town, it’s clear that the Cullen family are incredibly well-off to anyone visiting, and even though the family attempt to avoid sparking new friendships to keep their secrets from being exposed, the existence of their house alone is something of an obvious tell. However, while readers of the Twilight saga may know that Alice’s visions allow her to manipulate the stock market for financial gain (which is a whole other Twilight plot hole of its own), but as far as the external world knows, Carlisle and Esme are the only employed Cullens. Carlisle and his wife Esme are the only family members working, and his job as a local doctor and her work as an occasional architect can’t possibly account for all the wealth required to put five children through school and still own a lavish abode. And that’s without even getting into some of the more expensive belongings of the family and the antics of its member.

Late in the action of Twilight’s first sequel New Moon, there’s a throwaway moment wherein Alice bribes an Italian police officer, and despite the scene being a minor inclusion, its action speaks volumes to the franchise’s strange attitudes toward the riches of the Cullen clan. Alice Cullen pays off a police officer with a thousand dollar bill and without a second thought, but the problem with this New Moon moment is that bill itself is a now-rare piece of currency that hasn’t been in circulation for decades even in the US. Wouldn’t this decision draw more attention to her criminal activities? Where does the cop hope to cash this money in without arousing suspicion? Why does Alice carry around money that isn’t in circulation when she can’t buy anything with it at home?

The Cullens own a private island, but the remoteness of this extravagance means it could conceivably be hidden from the prying eyes of neighbors (if not the IRS). But the clearest indicators of the family’s immense wealth is their collection of sports cars, a string of purchases that would look suspiciously excessive for a movie star or Hall of Fame athlete and seem impossible for a small-town doctor like Carlisle Cullen to cover up. There’s a Porsche Turbo for Alice, an Aston Martin V12 for Edward, Carlisle’s own Mercedes AMG, and a BMW 3 for Rosalie — which equates to somewhere between half a million and a million dollars spent on cars alone in a small-town small family during the worst financial crisis in living memory (as the Twilight movies begin in 2008 and end in 2012). How on earth are this family not being audited into oblivion? The Cullens may be able to evade detection as vampires by feeding on animal blood, but the fact that they have evaded detection as multi-millionaires beggars belief even for fans who are willing to overlook more minor plot holes such as the missing pre-Volturi villains.

Related: The Batman Will Prove That Robert Pattison Shouldn’t Regret Twilight

The Cullens do have an adept lawyer, but the little that viewers see of him in the Twilight movies is a ramshackle Better Call Saul-esque downtown operation that specializes in minor forgery. However, despite the seemingly small-time set-up owned and operated by J. Jenks, the unseen reality behind the Cullen’s riches is that this unassuming man is single-handedly laundering millions of dollars annually — and that’s just for this one family, so who knows what else the money mastermind is hiding in his spare time. The Twilight novels reveal that Jenks operates not only the shady, clearly not-above-board downtown office where Bella procures fake IDs in Breaking Dawn, but also an upscale, comparatively legitimate practice as “Jason Jenks,” Seattle’s premier legal counsel. Not only that, but the sneaky attorney has yet another practice in the suburbs as “Jason Scott,” with J. Jenks skimming some funds off the top of the Cullen’s considerable fortune to run his one-man, three-practice criminal justice empire. His role in the Twilight movies may be reduced to a glorified cameo but make no mistake, the little-seen behind-the-scenes operator J. Jenks is the one-man reason that the Cullens spend the action of Twilight and its sequels in Forks and not in prison alongside Jordan Belfort and Bernie Madoff.

More: Twilight: How Renesmee Cullen’s Powers Change Vampires

Twilight: How The Cullens Hide Their Wealth (Is It A Plot Hole?) from https://ift.tt/38enGe3

#Blogger

[fragiledewdrop]

Cool. Then I guess the whole outrage at how Disney is considering to whitewash Mulan was for nothing - or do Chinese myths not 'transcend time'?

I get what you are saying, and by strict logic I would agree. I’ll try to make myself clearer.Yes, an historically accurate portrayal of the characters of the Iliad WOULD HAVE BEEN PREFERABLE. I agree with that.

I also pointed out that such a portrayal would have needed an extensive cast of people of colour, and their absence seem much, much worse to me than the presence of black characters as the Greek.

This GLARING oversight makes it so that the series is not historically accurate. Yet I haven’t seen complaints about that. It probably stems from the fact that  Homer’s poems are seen as part of western culture, and, in the mind of most people, western culture equals white. In the case of Homer’s work and Greek culture in general , though, that is just not true. Not only is the Iliad set in Asia, but Greek culture itself didn’t just stay in Greece and then influence Rome- it spread like wildfire through North Africa (especially Egypt)and through all of Asia, up to and including India. That was the scope of influence that Greek culture , and its myths and literature as a consequence,had at the peek of Alexander’s empire. The Iliad is not “white” for all of these reasons.(What I mean is, ot only does it not include only white characters, but it hasn’t influenced only European and-by extention- American culture.)

It is WRONG to have a cast full of white actors. At that point, any other ethnical addiction makes no difference. Hector could have been black or Indian or Chinese and it would have been just as wrong as having him white. So, since it’s obvious by this that the series is not historically accurate, I don’t see how adding a black character makes a difference. I don’t see how THAT is the big deal in comparison to a whole people being whitewashed. So, with that said, the only way to still enjoy the good aspects of the series is to see it as a modern interpretation of a western myth. If that is so,it’s only fair to aknowledge that all members all of western society grow up learning at least some of these myths, and that at this point in time “western society” doesn’t mean “white people” anymore. How many Europeans or Americans of colour have grown up with the same mythology? Since they have already thrown historical accuracy outta the window, what difference does it make to make a character black?

Black Achilles is just as historically wrong as a white Paris or Priamus or Hector, but in a way at least it provides a window to tell all those western not-white people that “hey, this story belongs to you too. It’s a fundamental part of our culture, and that means your culture too”.

Would historical accuracy have been preferable? YES. But once that is out of the table, I can still try to save it and view it as a myth like I said before for the sake of a good plot (still not sure if it is,I haven’t even finished the first episode) and good characters which is what I most crave about a retelling of these myths I love.And as an aside, I can be happy that that people of colour are getting a spot in it too, because why not? IT’S ALREADY HISTORICALLY WRONG, SO WHAT HARM CAN IT DO?

As for Mulan, at least from what I know,it is an inherently Chinese myth. There is already a beautiful Chinese movie that does it justice .But we don’t know about that movie, do we? Or about Mulan’s legend. And it’s not because “Chinese myths don’t transcend time”, but because it’s unfortunatly true that while western culture is pretty much known around the world because of colonization, Asian culture is not as well known in the west. In this specific case, the only way we came to know Mulan’s story was through a WESTERN cartoon. Now they are making a WESTERN movie of a Chinese story, and all the big deal about it being whitewashed is due to the fact that the white, dominant culture would in that way try to appropriate a story that, in the country where is being produced, represents a minority. Troy, on the other hand, is a rendition of a “““““““white”“““““ myth that is trying to INCLUDE minorities.

I understand that what bothers you about Troy is that it’s historically inaccurate, and you think that inaccuracy should be treated in the same way Mulan’s whitewashing has been. What I am sayiing is YOU ARE RIGHT: IT IS HISTORICALLY INACCURATE, BUT FOR AN EVEN BIGGER REASON THAT WHAT YOU MENTIONED, AND THAT BIGGER REASON- THE ERASURE OF  A GREAT NUMBER OF MAIN CHARACTERS OF COLOUR- MAKES THE PRESENCE OF A BLACK CHARACTER PALE IN COMPARISON. At least to me.

As an example, let’s say for the sake of the argument that they DID whitewash Mulan. The story would stll be beautiful- because, like in Troy, the setting and the plot would be the same- but all the characters are white. Except Shang. Shang is Black. Imagine then that someone came into my ask and said “Can you believe they made Shang’s character’s black? It’s ethnically and historically inaccurate” and so on and so forth. My response would be “Well, yes, but the whole movie is already historically inaccurate because the characters are all white instead of Chinese, so what does a black character change? At least it broadens the spectrum. At least there’s representation for SOMEONE”

Do you understand where I am coming from?

I repeat for the last time: yes, the series is historically inaccurate in its dealing with ethnicities, but the presence of black characters is the least of the problems in that sense and IN MY PERSONAL OPINION is not that bad because of all I  have said above about western culture and inclusion.

Once again, I hope what I am saying is clear enough. I repeat that it’s just my opinion. And maybe now I will go keep watching the series and see if it’s worth all the effort I put into giving this reading to it- that of an ancient myth presented in a way that mirrors our current society. Is it a good choice? I don’t know. I still would have preferred an historically correct version. But I am willing to give it a chance.

#anon your opinion is valid #it's just different than mine #but i understand where you are coming from #netflix troy #mulan #whitewashing #my opinion #meta #my writing

[moiraineswife]

Musing Of The Day: ACOTAR would have functioned so much better as a duology. 

I know that there’s a not-small portion of this fandom that just kind of :) isn’t it good these books ended at acomaf :) But like...I genuinely, genuinely think that would have been better? I think that almost the entire story/driving force of ACOWAR was...totally unnecessary tbh. Feyre (and Rhys, I suppose) could have had her story tied up beautifully in two concise, well-written books. I could MAYBE stretch to an ACOWAR that had wildly, wildly different content to tie up any loose ends but...This thing should have ended at ACOMAF. 

This series functioned at its best when it was purely about Feyre. And functioned at its worse when it went beyond her, and the entire narrative just swallowed her character, and her soul. 

I didn’t care about Hybern. I didn’t care about the war. I didn’t care about the wall. I didn’t care about...Literally any of the driving forces in ACOWAR. It got too big too quickly and it tried to become something it wasn’t. It tried to take a story about an ordinary girl’s struggle to save herself and her family and twisted it into the story of an ordinary girl’s struggle to save...the entire world and everyone in it. Which is just...Too big. 

The stakes were too high, and yet they weren’t, because I genuinely didn’t care. Hybern was a paper-thin villain, the war was so poorly cobbled together (and lasted like...two minutes??), the politics were non-existent, the world-building was...even more non-existent, the plot was Bland af. I didn’t care about any of it. And I think that’s a huge reason that ACOWAR fell flat, because there was nothing to care about any more. 

ACOTAR was Feyre’s struggle to save her family, save the ones she loved. Her family, and then the man she fell in love with. It did end in a struggle with her against a Big Bad in the form of Amarantha. (who was also pretty paper-thin tbh) But that worked because at its core, the narrative revolved around Feyre. It was a singular narrative told through her eyes, and even though she did do the whole ‘saving all of Prythian thing’ that wasn’t the driving force, it wasn’t what the narrative asked me to care about. It asked me to care about Feyre. Her family, her goals, her loves. And I did. 

ACOMAF was Feyre’s struggle to save herself. She has crippling depression, PTSD, and is in a twisted, abusive relationship. Again it has a very narrow focus, it has a very limited scope, and there’s plot things that go on around it related to the whole Hybern/war scenario but, honestly? That was all there to drive the characters, to drive Feyre, and to drive Rhys. And that’s the only reason it worked. Because the characters are what we were invested in by that point, not the fairly woeful plot, so you kind of overlook that weakness because the heart of the novel is there and it’s enough. 

You care about Feyre, the Circle, Rhys, Nesta, Elain, Lucien, etc, etc. It’s a very, very narrow focus. And I’m sure I sound like a hypocrite rn because I’m sure I whined about this and how narrow that focus was, and how I wanted the world to broaden but...I take it back. That’s not what I wanted at all. Past!Lauren was a goodamn liar. The narrow focus was the only thing that made this series work. 

Because as soon as we hit ACOWAR, and the stakes changed, and the focus changed, and that narrow tunnel-vision we’d had for two books suddenly erupted into full-scale ‘got to save the world you know nothing about and really aren’t at all invested in’ it got......Bad. 

Because ACOWAR was the complete opposite of ACOMAF in the worst possible way. It was a reversal of the driving force and the things that are being used to fulfil that goal. In ACOMAF it was Feyre, her darkness, her recovery, her story, and the plot kind of existed here and there to nudge that along. In ACOWAR the Plot suddenly takes centre stage and Feyre gets shunted off to one side and suddenly I’m asked to care about this huge war, and this whole end of the world and I just...don’t. 

Especially because Feyre got...Completely and utterly lost. She went from a focal point, the heart of these books, the thing everything revolved around and that a reader was in any way shape or form attached to....To a camera. She existed to show us what was happening in this big, bad world we didn’t give a toss about. That was it. There was no individual goal, there was no focus, there was no purpose.  

I think if this series had done what it set out to do, and didn’t try and force itself to become something it wasn’t, it would have had a lot more success. Either as a duology with some slight tweaks here and there to the narrative that allows it to fully end Feyre’s story in ACOMAF. Or, aye, okay, go ahead and make it a trilogy but not with a war. Not with a desperate bid to save the world. Because it’s boring. 

Because I’ve read variations of it a hundred times before and I’m never actually interested in reading them again. I don’t care if this world ends. I care more about Lucien stubbing his big toe than I do about this war in ACOWAR. I’m here for the charaters and they all got either fucked over, written OOC, written so badly it was painfully boring (I’m looking at u Rhys), or completely swallowed by what was supposed to be their story. 

Not every series has to escalate to ‘protagonist saves the whole entire world aren’t they great?’ to be a story worth telling. 

ACOWAR could have continued Feyre’s recovery, it could have actually told the stories of various other survivors (Rhys/Mor/Lucien etc) and given them the development and the dignity that they deserved. 

It could have showed Feyre’s struggles with being High Lady and integrating into this culture that she really doesn’t know a huge deal about, and the challenges that come with that. It could have been a novel about rebuilding after Amarantha. Introduce the other courts that way, by having them come together for Prythian as a whole to recover and rebuild and let that link with and resonate with Feyre’s recovery arc in ACOMAF.

It could have been so much more than what it was. Because what it was was a complete and utter disaster. But it’s a disaster that had potential, and it wouldn’t have taken much for it to fulfil that but NO instead I got ACOWAR. Just...Leave me in my salt pit to wither and DIE in indignation.   

#the News today has got me salty again. which got me thinking. which got me posting. ur all /so/ welcome #antiacowar #antisjm #acomaf #acotar series #sigh #feyre darling u were fucked up real badly and no-one talks abt that enough #lauren is a vicious salt goblin with no fucking chill anymore #anti acowar #anti sjm #:) #THE POTENTIAL. GODDAMMIT THE POTENTIAL. #YOU HAD IT /ALL/ #WE /C A R E D/ WE CARED ABT EVERYTHING #ALL U HAD TO DO WAS TELL US MORE ABT THEM #BUT OH NO #OH NO NO NO #GOD #*SCREAMS IN FRUSTRATION* #i'm good #i'm good goodbye

[shenlongshao]

Translated 4Gamer Interview about GG Strive

Here is the source of the translated interview with Daisuke Ishiwatari, creator of Guilty Gear. 

https://jiyunajp.wordpress.com/2019/12/01/guilty-gear-strive-daisuke-ishwatari-interview-while-protecting-the-spirit-of-guilty-gear-we-aim-to-broaden-the-field-of-players-who-can-enjoy-the-game/ This interview took place on sight at [ARCREVO America 2019] which was held on November 16th and 17th in California. We spoke directly on sight with the game’s General Director, Daisuke Ishiwatari, so we will present the interview in that form.GUILTY GEAR Strive’s General Director, Daisuke Ishiwatari 4Gamer: The title for the new game was announced – GUILTY GEAR STRIVE. Please share with us the thoughts and meaning behind the name. Ishiwatari: Continuing the theme of the entire GUILTY GEAR series, we decided on STRIVE. Furthermore, the IV in STRIVE is in bold so it also holds the meaning of “4”, but I think it’s fine if this is ignored. Up until now, X, XX, and Xrd all contained the letter X, so we decided to go with STRIVE to separate this title from those games. 4Gamer: What is the theme of the GUILTY GEAR series? Ishiwatari: This becomes a discussion about the story, but the theme revolves around seeking the answer to the question, “What does it mean to be human?”. For the new title as well, we want to continue with this theme and create a new drama to unfold. 4Gamer: I was able to play the demo version; I felt the game was much easier to play than the older titles. Please share with us why you decided to make such a big change to the feel of the game? Ishiwatari: For this title, we felt like we needed to appeal to both people that have never played a Fighting Game and to those who enjoy the modern style of Fighting Games; therefore we emphasized accessibility during development. 4Gamer: Ishiwatari, you’ve always had the image of someone who loves traditional Fighting Games and really puts his own into personality into whatever he makes. I’ll say it directly, but I felt the fact that you are making the new title easy to play is a bit uncharacteristic for you. Ishiwatari: The GUILTY GEAR series up until now has certainly been heavily influenced by my own personal image of what a Fighting Game should be, but because of this, the games were difficult to approach for new players. For this title, we wanted to reset that part and aim to make a game that can be enjoyed by many different players.However, this by no way means that I’m looking to make any compromises regarding the development of the game. I think we need to push that level of detail and depth that only ArcSystem Works and no other developer can achieve, and I believe that the entire staff understands this.This new title is the newest title in the long standing GUILTY GEAR series, so I absolutely believe we must protect the spirit of GUILTY GEAR. I’m currently in a position where the staff keeps proposing a multitude of new ideas, but I have to turn them away like a seawall. (laughs).  4Gamer: Please share with us what led to you developing the new game. Ishiwatari: I’ll be repeating what I said earlier, but while we were brainstorming and trying to figure out what a new player wanted in a Fighting Game, we came to the conclusion that we should reset the experience everyone has had up until now. I’ve always believed that a Fighting Game should feature a wide variety of characters, so we decided to use the base of GUILTY GEAR Xrd and increase the amount of characters. (Jiyuna Note – This is the only quote I am uncertain of, but I believe he is explaining why he chose to use Guilty Gear’s already robust roster rather than create a new IP?) 4Gamer: Regarding the idea that a Fighting Game should feature a large cast, do you plan on adding classic characters to Strive that were not featured in GUILTY GEAR Xrd Rev 2? Ishiwatari: I said the same thing during Rev 2, but if we can sell enough we will put every character in the game (laughs). Furthermore, GUILTY GEAR Strive is a separate title from Rev 2, so I still have not thought about whether or not Rev 2 is finished. There is still a possibility that more classic characters may be added to Rev 2 in the future. 4Gamer: Currently, Sol, Ky, May, Axl, Chipp, Potemkin, Faust and one unnamed character have been revealed. Can you share with us why you selected these 7 classic characters? Ishiwatari: This is something the entire staff struggled with, but we looked for “Characters that are recognized around the world”, “Characters that GUILTY GEAR fans want in the game”, and “Characters that feel good to new players”, and this is the lineup that we felt best matched those criteria. 4Gamer: All of the visuals have changed, but among those May changed so much that you could almost call her a different person. I feel like this was a good move and you’ve succeeded in gaining a lot of new fans. Ishiwatari: I’m very happy it worked out and also the views on her reveal video continue to skyrocket (laughs). 4Gamer: She’s very popular because no matter which frame you look at, she’s always cute. Ishiwatari: This is because our Art Director thoroughly designed the character piece by piece. 4Gamer: Besides May, Faust also received a big change from his past design. Ishiwatari: May and Faust both received big and noticeable changes, but we are carefully designing each character with new players and the global market in mind, while thinking about how much of that character’s charm we can show off. 4Gamer: Next please allow us to ask about the gameplay. Compared to the Xrd Series, I felt that the damage dealt by players was rather high. Do you plan to maintain this level of damage? Ishiwatari: Certainly the amount of damage dealt has increased, but looking at our data from the playtests, the length of each match has not changed that much from the older titles. This shows that the Neutral game and the Mind games have expanded. 4Gamer: Certainly I did not get the impression that the matches were short from the games I played. Ishiwatari: The titles up until now focused on performing long and difficult combos in order to deal big damage, but in order to perform these techniques a great deal of time spent practicing was necessary. We wanted to revise this part of the game, and make it easier for players to have the chance to win against higher level players. Of course, we are making sure that the game rewards players who put in the time practicing, so please be at ease. 4Gamer: In past titles, your success was linked to your ability to perform high difficulty combos and setplay. By simplifying this part, I see you are placing more emphasis on the mind games. Ishiwatari: Up until now I’ve aimed to create Fighting Games that play like Shougi. Shougi is a game where if there is a gap in you and your opponent’s skill level, then you will almost never lose. However, in order to match the current trends, it was necessary to change that part. I don’t know if this is a proper example, but I think I am aiming to create something close to Mahjong. Gameplay where confident movements, reads, and luck can allow one to seize a chance at victory. 4Gamer: The effect of Roman Cancel has also been narrowed down and its use has become easier to understand. Ishiwatari: In the Xrd series, it was a system that had too high a degree of freedom, so this time we set the scope of its use. However, just narrowing down its use is not interesting, so we’ve made sure to include a variety of different techniques. Basically, hitting your opponent and performing a Red Roman Cancel is simple and strong, but we want high level players to be able to explore and find other uses for the system. 4Gamer: I also felt that it was easy to use Red Roman Cancel to extend my combos. Ishiwatari: When you first start playing the game I think it will feel that way. But as you dive further into the game, there are also more difficult and interesting uses to discover so please look forward to that. 4Gamer: When talking about the GUILTY GEAR series, one of the words synonymous with the game is Okizeme –  the system of attacking your opponent as they get up; but in this version there are a lot of attacks that knock the opponent away and I felt like it has become difficult to perform Okizeme. Ishiwatari: That’s correct. We decided that not focusing on midscreen Okizeme and instead expand on attacking in the corner would make for a better game. Up until now, there are many examples of players losing to powerful okizeme from Advanced players without being able to do anything in return. Removing this scenario and instead increasing the number of mind games per match was one of our concepts when designing the game. 4Gamer: In this title, when you perform a combo in the corner, your opponent is blown away and the stage changes. Is it safe to say this is also a system to prevent matches from becoming one-sided? Ishiwatari: That’s correct. However, the person who performs the wall break receives a buff, so they are able to proceed at an advantage after the match resumes. Presently, the buff is a bonus to their Tension Gauge building, but this is only temporary and at this moment I am not sure what the buff will be in the final version. 4Gamer: In the current version, “Air Teching” which allows one to recover in the air is also gone. Please share your reasoning behind this. Ishiwatari: Even in the past titles, there were many requests to add in the “Hold Button to Air Tech” feature, and I’ve discussed it countless times with the production staff throughout the years. Of course this discussion came up during the development of the current version, but I thought the whole reason this is even a discussion is because of the complex air battles that happen in the game which in turn add to the difficulty. That being the case, I thought maybe we are supposed to make a game without the need for Air Teching, which led us to our current system. 4Gamer: That’s a pretty big system change. Ishiwatari: If you look back on the history of GUILTY GEAR, even though we attempted to create a new game with each title, we were held back and unable to proceed forward in many aspects due to the need to protect the conventional spirit of GUILTY GEAR. For this title, we are taking a development strategy to actively break free from those parts. This is a digression, but there actually is Air Teching in the game. This was put in to prevent infinite combos, so I don’t think you will see it in everyday play. 4Gamer: The Gatling System that offered a high level of freedom up until now has also been rather restricted. Ishiwatari: When we made the original GUILTY GEAR, I thought it would be easy if you could just hit buttons in order to make attacks come out. In actuality, it is pretty easy I feel. However, when you look at it from a competitive standpoint, if you have a vast number of routes available then a new player will have no idea which route is the correct one to use. Because of this, Advanced Players will have an understanding through experience and reason that will create a gap between the players. Because of this, I thought it would be beneficial to restrict the available routes. This way the system would be easier to understand for a greater number of people 4Gamer: I think the GUILTY GEAR series is not just about the battle system, but the story and characters are also a key part of its appeal. Are you planning on adding the Story Mode that was so highly praised in the past versions? Ishiwatari: I cannot say anything at the present time, but I would like to keep creating until the tale of Sol Badguy is completed. Also, I want to make it so that those new players who are now familiar with the previous story can keep up when playing GUILTY GEAR STRIVE. 4Gamer: Is the character with dreadlocks who appeared in the Trailer a main character in the story? Ishiwatari: I can’t say at this time, but we are planning on it. 4Gamer: Ever since his face was revealed in the trailer there hasn’t been any new information, when can we expect a followup on the character? Ishiwatari: We plan on sharing things as soon as they are completed, so please wait a little longer. 4Gamer: In Japan, there is currently an Esports boom surrounding Fighting Games. Do you have plans to develop the new title with Esports in mind? Ishiwatari: Of course we would like to get involved. However, I don’t know if our vision of Esports matches that of what certain Companies and Organizations think Esports is. 4Gamer: Since long ago, you have said Fighting Games are communication tool that connects the world. Ishiwatari: Yes. Of course there is the competitive aspect, but I think it is something that everyone can get excited over together, regardless of language or nationality. Recently there has been a Rugby Boom in Japan; the “No Side” that is called at the end of the match, this is something that we could do with Fighting Games as well. (Jiyuna Note – “No Side” is an outdated Rugby term that still exists in Japan. It signals the end of the match, and means that the competition is over, all the players should forget their differences i.e there are no more sides). 4Gamer: What do you think of the Esports boom? Ishiwatari: I think there are already too many different expectations depending on the business. However, I still feel doubts about whether or not the fun and excitement of Esports is properly being presented to the general audience. There are Esports shows being broadcast on late night television, but whenever I watch these I get the feeling that these are just programs that serve to promote the game. Simply using a game to host a tournament is certainly Esports, but I’m thinking about what needs to be done so the general audience is able to enjoy this. Just broadcasting tournament footage is not enough to spark interest. During the Rugby World Cup, they showed small rule explanations on the screen during the matches – I thought this was great. Regarding Esports, Sega has put out it’s Game Tournament Reporting System, bi-E-Play; I feel like this would be an interesting thing to test out. 4Gamer: Thank you for your time today. In closing, please send a message to all the fans looking forward to the release of GUILTY GEAR STRIVE. Ishiwatari: The first playtest for this game took place in America, but we have plans to hold playtests within Japan as well. I believe that direct feedback from players that play the game is absolutely essential to creating a good product, so I would be grateful if you came out to play and share your thoughts and feelings on the new game.

#arc system works #Guilty Gear Strive #GG2020 #Guilty Gear 2020 #Daisuke Ishiwatari #interview #game development #GGStrive #4Gamer

[sophia-sol]

The Queen's Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner

I decided to reread the whole series so I could then do a reread of the newest book!

(Cut for spoilers, largely for King of Attolia and Thick as Thieves)

My opinions of The Thief and Queen of Attolia and Conspiracy of Kings remain largely as they've always been: enjoyable but imperfect. Though I noticed this time around that Queen of Attolia involves a lot more, like, talking about the specific strategies of war than I remembered, possibly because I always just skim over those sections because I find them boring, so they didn't stick in my mind.

King of Attolia is still a very good book, but for some reason I didn't love it as much this time around, idk. Part of it might be that I read the majority of it while sleep deprived and extremely stressed. But I think part of it as well is that it struck me a little more this time that the main plot of the book is Make Eugenides Act As King, and I'm just increasingly uncomfortable with applauding the development of unchecked power. And when you tie that to the idea in Conspiracy of Kings of there being a different set of ethics for rulers than for normal people, and I'm just noping away into a corner.

Also: I'd always liked the ending of King of Attolia where Costis forces Eugenides to show his hand as being a capable king, but now I've got a question: why does showing he's a good swordsman somehow equal showing he can be an effective and respect-worthy king?????? So the ending doesn't work as well for me as it used to, which is disappointing.

At any rate then I picked up Thick as Thieves again and was DELIGHTED the whole way through it. Definitely my favourite in the series now. What a good everything. I love it.

The way in which my reread of the other books most changed my reading of Thick as Thieves was in realizing the extent of the sudden broadening of scope. The first four books are very narrowly focused on the three countries of the Little Peninsula, whereas book five only spends a very brief portion near the end in the Little Peninsula. Adding to this the outsider pov - Kamet's pov is very clearly one of someone for whom the Little Peninsula and its wars and politics are not personal to him at all and not of any particular interest - and it makes for a rather an abrupt-feeling alteration of the focus of the books. Not in a bad way, just an odd way. And I'm not complaining about it because the wider scope is one of the things I love about this book!

But at the same time that there's a broadening of scope in the world, there's a narrowing of personal scope. For Kamet, the plot of the book is fairly small in focus: it's about Kamet's life. The first four books have main characters with goals which are very much about the directing of nations. Kamet had thought he was going to have that life, in Mede, and in fact does unknowingly have that life in this book in that everything is according to Eugenides' plan to get information from Kamet to aid in war, but from Kamet's perspective, this book is simply about him personally trying to stay alive and free.

I like stories about fictional politics a lot, but I also like really personal stories like this one. I care about Kamet a lot! And of course the other main character in the book, Costis. (COSTIS IS SO GREAT.) And I love the way that this book takes you in and out of the lives of all sorts of small, politically-unimportant people over the course of the road trip. I love getting to meet the people whose pot Costis re-tins, and the escaped slave who both helps them and betrays them, and the Braeling guard who dreams of going home but probably never will, and on and on and on. We've spent a lot of time over the previous books with only middle- and high-class people (other than the interlude where Sophos was briefly a slave, and even then we don't really get to know any of the other slaves because Sophos is so inwardly focused) and I appreciated getting to really see this other side of the social hierarchy via all these interactions Kamet and Costis have over the course of their road trip (as well as of course via Kamet's pov).

Anyway I'm VERY curious where the next book in the series is going to go. In terms of focus and scope, and in who the main character will be, and in how the series plot arc will be resolved (since I understand the next one is supposed to be the last one). I can't wait!

#queen's thief #thick as thieves #king of attolia #queen of attolia #the thief #a conspiracy of kings #megan whalen turner #book thoughts

[entergamingxp]

Sakura Wars Interview – Revitalizing a Legendary Series and Localizing For The West

July 10, 2020 1:32 PM EST

DualShockers spoke with the Sakura Wars team at Sega, discussing the creation of this modern PS4 entry, the western localization process, and much more.

Sakura Wars. Sakura Taisen. These words bring forth many feelings for quite a number of people both in and outside Japan. The mix of Japanese Adventure games, Dating Sim, Steampunk, Theater, Mecha, Fantasy and much more has changed anyone who has met its path. Whether you’ve actually experienced the franchise yourself, or only gazed at it from afar, it’s one of the most iconic series Japanese pop-culture has to offer. It’s never too late to try out the series either, and the newest entry on PS4, Sakura Wars, demonstrates this perfectly.

Three months after the game’s launch in the west, DualShockers had the opportunity to speak with the Sakura Wars development team at Sega: Localization Producer Andrew Davis, Director of Sakura Wars Tetsuya Ootsubo, and Jacob Nahin, Senior Communications Manager.

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars on PS4 brings in a new cast of characters and takes place over ten years after the latest game. These are all big changes story-wise. Could you tell us more on the choices behind this decision?

Tetsuya Ootsubo, Director of Sakura Wars: A hallmark of the Sakura Wars series is that each new entry shows the passage of time since the previous ones, so one of our ironclad requirements was that any sequel would take place in the same timeline after the events of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love.

Then, once we had settled on the idea of a soft reboot with (nearly) all-new main characters and cast, it made sense to let a bit of time elapse since So Long, My Love, so that players could seamlessly absorb the world without the need for any particular preconceptions or knowledge of the old games. At the same time, by keeping Sumire Kanzaki as a major character, we hoped to delight longtime fans and establish a firm connection to the older titles.

Iyane Agossah: What kind of struggles did you encounter when striving to make this entry fit for both newcomers and longtime fans? We would love to hear one specific anecdote in that regard, such as which new character was the hardest to create in order to please both sides.

Tetsuya Ootsubo: For this game, we enlisted a variety of artists to contribute to the character designs. The challenge was to maintain each creator’s individual quirks while still achieving a unified look for the game world. To that end, we asked animator Masashi Kudo to create the 3D character models based on the 2D concept designs.

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars on PS4, like past games, do not include extensive RPG elements such as money and shops, equipment and skill trees. Did you ever think about adding these kinds of RPG elements in the series?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: The key concept behind the Sakura Wars series is fostering communication between the characters and becoming stronger through the bonds that you forge as a result of that communication. Thus, our intent is for players to focus primarily on how they’re interacting with the other members of the troupe and enjoy the sense of being the captain of a team.

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars on PS4 ended up not receiving an English dub for its localization. Could you tell us more on the reasons behind this decision?

Andrew Davis, Localization Producer:  Andrew Davis, Localization Producer: For every title we bring out in the West, we have to assess beforehand what scope will be possible from a business standpoint. Obviously, if it’s a well-established series, we can be more confident that sales will justify a larger localization budget, but in the case of Sakura Wars, we were starting with the barest foothold in the West. Since we had to make sure every dollar counted, we considered our options carefully and determined that the best use of our resources would be to expand our text language options and forgo English voiceover for this game. Because of this, we were able to offer text alongside the English in Spanish, French, and German.

As a series grows its fanbase, the possibilities broaden as well. It took a while for the Yakuza series to really find its audience in the West, but with the success we’ve seen in the past few years, we were able to start producing English VO for recent games from that team, like Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise and Judgment. I would certainly love to see a similar arc for Sakura Wars!

Iyane Agossah:  The localization of Sakura Wars focuses on adapting Japanese terms such as honorifics instead of keeping them in the script. Could you tell us more on this decision?

Andrew Davis: That’s a good question! Neither approach is necessarily right or wrong. As a localization team, we always discuss this and other questions of style at the beginning of a project to establish what will fit best with each game. For some franchises like Persona or Yakuza, set among complex power structures in a modern-day Japan, it’s been useful to apply honorifics like -san, -senpai, -chan, or -sensei, as once players get over the hurdle of figuring out how they’re used, they can pick up contextual clues regarding who has authority over whom.

We did consider this for Sakura Wars as well, since of course it’s set in Tokyo. That said, given all the demons, steampunk, airships, and libromancy, we also knew this still have many elements of a period fantasy story. Additionally, the character relationships were pretty straightforward, so it didn’t seem like honorifics would add a lot of information that wasn’t already clear from the context. Ultimately, it seemed to fit the narrative best to localize into naturalistic English and sidestep some of the more explicitly Japanese details. So, for instance, I’m sure some players noticed that in the Japanese VO Sakura often calls Seijuro “Sei nii-san”, signifying that he’s an older male close friend from back when they were little kids. We opted to render this as simply “Seijuro”, the way a native English speaker would approach it.

Iyane Agossah: In Japan, this new entry is titled Shin Sakura Taisen. Could you explain why you decided to go for a simpler title in the West? Hypothetically speaking, if the first game gets localized later on, could it earn a subtitle, such as Sakura Wars: Origins ?

Andrew Davis: Heh, this was actually a very lengthy discussion! In Japan, of course, the original series (and its spinoffs) flew under the Sakura Taisen banner, and since this new game was meant to be a soft reboot to bring in both old and new fans, SEGA of Japan settled on Shin (New) Sakura Taisen to signify a fresh start.

We considered many options, such as “Shin Sakura Wars” (but “Shin” doesn’t signify much if you don’t know Japanese), “New Sakura Wars” (but it’s a bit unwieldy in English), “Sakura Wars: [various subtitles having to do with romance]” (but that doesn’t communicate that this is a new starting point accessible to all players, and as we played more of the final game we grew to understand that the romance aspects were only one part of the experience)…

Ultimately, since the Western footprint for the old series was so thin, we decided to present it with the simple, catchy title Sakura Wars, even as we acknowledge that this could foster confusion when talking about the older series. As for your other question, it’s still too early to say whether we’ll have a chance to revisit any of the older games and give them their first Western releases, but yes! I would imagine we would have to consider adding a subtitle for any official rerelease of the first game, if only to distinguish it from the PS4 game.

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars The Animation aired in Japan and is simulcasted in the West. Can we expect more adaptations related to Sakura Wars on PS4 to be localized? Such as the manga and novel adaptations.

Andrew Davis: I’d certainly love to see more Sakura Wars media make it to the West! However, SEGA of America generally only handles video game publishing, so an interested party would need to reach out to the appropriate licensor in Japan.

Iyane Agossah: As Sega previously mentioned the wish to bring more games to PC, could we expect Sakura Wars to get ported to PC via Steam or Epic Games Store? What about other consoles such as Xbox and Switch?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: We certainly want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the Sakura Wars series. We’re actively researching where the most demand exists for the games and weighing what steps we can take to make other options a reality.

Iyane Agossah: In the past, the very first Sakura Wars game had a spinoff game released on Game Boy. The series also had a puzzle game spinoff series based on Columns. Would you be interested in developing similar spinoff games for this new entry?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: We’re focused right now on getting as many people as possible to play the new Sakura Wars game. However, we would love the chance to work on a spinoff title for people who want to explore the world more and engage with the characters they like.

Iyane Agossah: Seeing Sakura Wars on PS4 has several bonus costumes and soundtrack DLCs, could we expect more DLC in the future? And would it be in the form of additional costumes, or could we get new story content?

Jacob Nahin, Senior Communications Manager: We have a costume / planned release of loungewear planned for release sometime around the fourth of July.

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars as a series has a small presence in the West thanks to the old anime adaptations and the localization of Sakura Wars V on Wii. And now, Sakura Wars on PS4 is a new page of the history of the franchise in the West. Could you share with us your impressions regarding the recent reception of Sakura Wars on PS4, and the series as a whole, in the West?

Andrew Davis: We’re really thrilled by the public and critical reception! It’s great that we can finally make a significant push into the West and let more fans discover the unique, comforting atmosphere of Sakura Wars as a series. People have responded really well to the art style, the personalities of the cast, the musical score, and the quirky blue-skies setting.

In fact, we’ve been analyzing and digesting the critical reviews (as we do regularly for all our titles), and one sentiment that’s come up over and over, even in the otherwise negative reviews, is how utterly charming the whole game is. I collected quote after quote talking about how the game feels “cozy”, it has “tons of heart”, and “it’s hard not to fall in love with everyone you meet”. I think we all need a dose of comfort amidst the pain and chaos of 2020, and I’m planning to report to the dev team that Western players appreciate Sakura Wars being the home of good vibes.

Iyane Agossah: Seeing Sakura Wars on PS4 was localized only a few months after its Japanese release, can we expect possible future entries to be localized as swiftly?

Andrew Davis: While it can be a challenge sometimes to start on localization while the game is still in development and parts of the script are in flux, we also know it’s friendlier to fans (and often better for the game’s success!) when we’re able to bring out a game in the West as close as possible to the Japanese release date. Scheduling for any future titles will depend on the individual circumstances, especially given the disruptions hitting many sectors of the game industry worldwide, but we’d certainly like to get our localized editions out as quickly as we can!

Iyane Agossah: The majority of the games in the series are still Japan-exclusive. Could they be localized in some way, in order to make the series better known in the West?

Andrew Davis: The old games are beloved classics in Japan, and if possible, we’d love the chance to revisit them and allow Western fans a chance to discover what made them special. We don’t have any specific plans at the moment, but fingers crossed!

Iyane Agossah: Sakura Wars as a series has few but dedicated fans in the West, and is particularly popular in Asian countries such as South Korean and China. Both countries had their own mobile Sakura Wars games as well. However, certain themes depicted in the Sakura Wars series, such as the Taisho Era and the military themes, can be controversial in the West, South Korea and China. Do you have some comments to share in that regard?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: What makes the world of Sakura Wars so special is the blend of steampunk aesthetic with certain aspects of the real-life Taisho Era of Japan, a time when the traditional culture of Japan was starting to mix with cultural influences imported from the West. We would never condone anything that would harm someone in the enjoyment of this milieu, and during development, we took extra caution to consult with people of all the regions we planned to release the game in, in an effort to avoid ethical missteps.

Iyane Agossah: Sales-wise, did Sakura Wars on PS4 meet your expectations in Japan? In Asia? In the West?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: We first would like to extend our warmest thanks to everyone who has bought the game. We’re continuing to coordinate with teams in each of our sales regions to work on expanding the user base.

Iyane Agossah: Many fans who played Sakura Wars on PS4 mentioned they’d like the game to be fully voiced. Have you considered releasing an enhanced version of the game or DLC adding full voice acting?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: We’ve heard similar requests on our end as well. Currently we don’t have any specific plans for this kind of addition, but we are giving these ideas some consideration.

Iyane Agossah: While Sakura Wars on PS4 marks a new beginning with a new cast of characters, many fans would like to see the old cast again. Did you consider the option to bring back the old cast in some way? Like a non-canon spinoff, where the old and new cast would crossover?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: Indeed, the old characters still exist in the world of PS4 Sakura Wars, and not just Sumire Kanzaki. We understand that longtime fans have a great deal of attachment to the old cast, and we would very much like to bring them back for all the fans in some form or another.

Iyane Agossah: How would you feel about featuring Sakura Wars in console crossover titles, such as a console entry in the Super Robot Wars series?

Tetsuya Ootsubo: We do love to see Sakura Wars characters make appearances in crossover titles. Here in Japan, they have turned up in a number of collaborations already, and if we have the opportunity in the future, we would be thrilled to include them in additional tie-in/crossover games.

Iyane Agossah: Do you have a message you’d like to share with the Western fans of the Sakura Wars franchise?　

Tetsuya Ootsubo: Up until now, the Sakura Wars series hasn’t had much of an active presence in the West. And yet, despite that, there are still dedicated fans all across the globe, which is why we’re thrilled that we could deliver a localized version of the newest game to these fans. This game is a proper sequel set in the same chronology as the previous games, but even if it’s your first exposure to the series, we think you’ll have a really fun time, especially if you have any interest in Japanese anime culture, or even if you merely had your curiosity piqued by the unique, exciting period setting of Taisho-era Japan.

Sakura Wars is currently available on PS4. You can read our thoughts on the game through our review and our latest coverage. I would like to thank once again Tetsuya Ootsubo, Jacob Nahin, and Andrew Davis for answering our questions, along with Jordan and all the Sega PR team.

July 10, 2020 1:32 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/sakura-wars-interview-revitalizing-a-legendary-series-and-localizing-for-the-west/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sakura-wars-interview-revitalizing-a-legendary-series-and-localizing-for-the-west

[ramialkarmi]

Netflix's new hit show is a triumph of 'New Hollywood' over 'Old Hollywood,' says showrunner

"Super Mario Bros." is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Little Super Mario sits alongside Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald as one of the modern world's most recognizable characters.

And yet, even with something as popular and straightforward as "Super Mario Bros.", the Hollywood movie industry adapted it into something hilariously bad.

This is the norm for video game adaptations taken on by Hollywood, whether it's a TV show or a film — few expect their favorite game to get turned into a good movie or show.

The recently released "Castlevania" on Netflix, an animated show centered on the "Castlevania" video game series, is an incredible exception. It's smart, funny, and manages to turn a largely uninteresting game series (story-wise) into a compelling narrative.

We caught up with "Castlevania" showrunner Adi Shankar over the phone last week to ask how he and his team managed to pull off what so many others in Hollywood could not. Shankar said the reason so many video game adaptations are terrible is because of the approach taken by Hollywood: Rather than diving in on what makes the game's world interesting to the people who already love it, adaptations tend to broaden the scope too far in an attempt to draw in a larger audience.

"Let's say the game sold 5 million copies, right? [The studios] look at it as, 'Those are 5 million people who are gonna show up on opening weekend anyways. So let's get more people to show up,'" Shankar said. "But what they didn't get is no, no, no, no, no — that's like your marketing department. Those 5 million people? If you love something, you want everyone else to love it. You want to share that fandom with other people."

To Shankar, "Old Hollywood" is represented by that old approach: Take a property that people already love, and broaden it instead of appealing to its core. And it's "New Hollywood" that gave him the chance to make "Castlevania."

"I was done," Shankar said. He'd made a handful of successful but — by their very nature — unprofitable films on YouTube. He made what are essentially fan films that he dubbed his "Bootleg Universe": short films based on stuff like "Power Rangers" and "The Punisher." Since they're properties owned by major corporations, he was unable to profit from the films (lest he get sued). 

"After that came out, 'Old Hollywood' was kind of like, 'What is this guy smoking? What is wrong with this dude?'," Shankar said. "But then I guess 'New Hollywood' — the internet crowd — embraced me as one of their own at that point. Maker Studios gave me a three-picture deal. And there's a bunch of stuff that happened behind the scenes that wasn't even public knowledge. I was in kind of a weird spot because I wanted to leave, and I was like I'll try out this whole 'Hollywood Career version 2.0' for me." 

With one foot out the door, Hollywood pulled Shankar back in. 

"I shut down all the infrastructure I'd set up. I applied to graduate school. And then different brands just started hitting me up. It was kinda weird," he said. "Those same corporations that I was like 'Ugh, go away!' — they were calling me. There were rumors of maybe he'll direct this movie, maybe he'll produce that thing. And I'm like, 'What is going on? I'm literally out the door.'" 

It was around then that, through a chance encounter, Shankar learned of an opportunity to lead production on a show based on "Castlevania," a classic video game franchise close to Shankar's heart. He jumped at it, and the show we have now is the result of that chance encounter.

But Shankar sees his role in Hollywood as similar to that of Joss Whedon (who directed "The Avengers"), James Gunn (who directed "Guardians of the Galaxy") and Jon Favreau (who directed "Iron Man"), only with video games as the medium being adapted rather than comic books.

Here's Shankar:

"The way I see it is comic book adaptations were really bad for a very long time. And really what it took was a bunch of kids who loved comic books growing up, who were then pissed off at how bad the comic books movies were, to be like, 'I'm gonna change that.' Right? They went out and made 'Iron Man.' They went out and made 'The Avengers.' They went out and made all these now-great comic book adaptations."

And he's not wrong. Before comic book movies took over as the modern blockbuster, there were dozens of whiffs. Do yourself a favor and don't watch "Batman Forever," for instance. It took decades of misses before Hollywood figured out how to consistently make hit films out of comic books. And even then, it wasn't a measure of the film industry figuring out how to do it — they simply handed the keys to directors who grew up with comics, who love those comics. 

Shankar put it as such: "It's on our generation to fix this problem." His next project, unsurprisingly, is another video game adaptation: "Assassin's Creed." 

SEE ALSO: Netflix somehow managed to make a great TV show based on a video game

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